Controller presses for more payroll staff; CAO recommends smaller package and committee sends matter to full council with one added position
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Summary
The elected city controller told the committee his office is understaffed and requested seven payroll-related positions; the CAO recommended a short-term package of three positions for the controller plus other targeted hires and the committee voted to move the CAO report to full council with one additional Financial Management Specialist 4 added.
The committee debated supplemental staffing for the city's human resources and payroll (HRP) Workday program and related payroll operations.
The elected City Controller argued his office remains under-resourced following earlier cuts and asked the committee for seven additional positions to stabilize payroll operations. The controller said his office handles a substantial volume of requests and previously lost positions during prior cuts, leading him to argue that "we need these positions now rather than later" to avoid repeated payroll problems and litigation.
The CAO's analysis recommended a smaller short-term package designed to stabilize workload for the remainder of the fiscal year: the CAO proposed one programmer analyst for ITA, two payroll analysts for the controller and authority to unfreeze four accounting clerks in LAPD, among other targeted steps. CAO staff said the recommendations were chosen to distinguish temporary operational pressures from longer-term structural workload increases and that a fuller staffing review should occur in the 2026—7 budget process.
The committee also heard from ITA and LAPD about technical and operational needs. ITA said it requested two positions to restore capacity lost since Workday went live but noted it has already been reduced and may not have available salary savings to fill new positions immediately.
After discussion about using salary savings for short-term hires versus adding long-term positions, Chair Tim McOsker moved the CAO report to full council and added one Financial Management Specialist 4 to the CAO package to address a controller need. A colleague seconded the motion and the committee approved the item as amended and moved it to full council for further financial analysis and final action.
What happens next: the matter will be analyzed at full council with the CAO's financial review; departments and the controller will continue to press for additional staffing as the budget process proceeds.