A new report identified about $80.4 million in special funds that remained idle in the last fiscal year, Los Angeles City Controller Kenneth Mejia announced Wednesday.
The report, titled “Leveraging Idle Special Funds 2026,” reviewed the city’s 612 special accounts and found that 177 of them had a combined $80.4 million in unused dollars. The report analyzed special funds as of June 30, 2025.
Special funds are dollars that can only be used for specific purposes, unlike the city’s General Fund which can be used for anything. The City Controller’s Office says these idle funds means there were specific projects or services that could have been supported but weren’t.
“We need to put these underutilized funds to work for the people of Los Angeles especially since the city is facing another tough budget year,” Mejia said in a statement.
“With current General Fund challenges, and upcoming budget discussions in full swing, this is an opportune time to increase efforts to evaluate whether these idle special funds could be leveraged as a one-time funding source to help address budget gaps or other pressing needs in the community,” Mejia added.
The report found the $80.4 million could be spent on the following:
— $11.9 million for community safety;
— $10.9 million for economic development;
— $9.7 million for parks;
— $9.5 million for arts, culture or tourism;
— $7.8 million for housing and homelessness;
— $7.1 million for streets;
— $6.6 million for sanitation and environment;
— $5.7 million for social services;
— $4.3 million for transportation;
— $1.5 million for public works; and lastly,
— $5.4 million for an “other” category.
In response to the report’s findings, Mayor Karen Bass agreed that officials can’t leave any funds on the table as they address “longstanding City Hall inefficiencies while continuing our momentum to reduce street homelessness, lower crime and clean our city streets.”
“I thank Controller Mejia for his diligence in evaluating how these idle funds — some that have sat untouched for years and years — could be used to address budget gaps and further accelerate our priorities,” Bass said in a statement.
As part of the report, the City Controller’s Office provided short-term and long-term recommendations to better account for special funds. In the short term, Mejia recommended that Bass and the City Council use funds or transfer them to the reserve fund as soon as possible.
He further suggested spending these dollars as a one-time payment to address the city’s anticipated $200 million-plus deficit for fiscal year 2026-27, or to use it as a repayment for previously approved reserve fund loans.
In the long-term, Mejia encouraged his colleagues to reduce the number of idle special funds through policy changes.