The Los Angeles City Controller is an official in the government of the city of
Los Angeles, California. The City Controller is the
paymaster and chief accounting officer of the city. Along with the
Mayor and the
City Attorney, the City Controller is chosen by popular vote every four years.
The position began in 1878 as the Los Angeles City Auditor and in the early days included secretarial duties for the
Los Angeles Common Council as part of the job. Upon the re-election of
John S. Myers in 1925, when the city approved a new charter, the name of the position was changed to City Controller. In 2000, another update to the city charter added the power and responsibility of conducting "performance audits" of departmental effectiveness.[1]