The city of Los Angeles overpaid police pensions this fiscal year by about $40 million, Controller Kenneth Mejia announced in a social media video on May 20.
The overpayment comes at a time when the city’s financial picture is “dire” as it faces a $1 billion budget deficit and hundreds of staff layoffs, he said.
Recently, “we found out that the city was contributing more than we contractually needed to when it came to the police pension contributions,” Mejia said.
The city’s pension costs are nearly 20 percent of its general fund expenditures, according to Mejia.
As controller, Mejia is the city’s chief accounting officer, auditor, and paymaster….