PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT

Los Angeles City Charter tit. I, art. V, pt. PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT

in effect

Los Angeles City Charter § 580 Public Works Department Powers and Duties.

Sec. 580. Public Works Department Powers and Duties. The Department of Public Works shall have the following powers and duties: (a) design, construct, excavate and maintain streets and public works improvements including but not limited to bridges, public parkways and rights-of-way, sanitary sewers and storm drains, water and sewer treatment facilities, landfills and public rights-of-way lighting facilities owned by the City; (b) design and construct public buildings belonging to the City, except those under the jurisdiction of the Proprietary Departments and the Department of Recreation and Parks; (c) dispose of solid waste; and (d) perform other duties as may be assigned by ordinance, if not inconsistent with Section 514.

Los Angeles City Charter § 581 Board of Public Works.

Sec. 581. Board of Public Works. Members of the Board of Public Works shall devote their entire time to the duties of office. Subject to the Charter and applicable ordinances and law, the board shall have the power and duty to: (a) set policy for and manage the Department of Public Works; (b) establish procedures for the examination, consideration and preparation of requests for proposals or bids, and for the advertisement and establishment of the amount of the required bond, all as provided by Sections 370 through 378 and related ordinances, for any work or improvements; (c) approve the award of contracts; (d) fix the time when work shall be commenced and completed in accordance with applicable law; (e) exercise the power of eminent domain, subject to Council authorization, and lease or purchase property on behalf of the City for the construction and maintenance of public works projects; (f) exercise the powers and duties imposed by law or delegated by the Council relating to the award of contracts for work specified in Section 580 and the determination of benefits, damages and costs incident to a proposed change or improvement of any public place, right-of-way or property belonging to the City and the making and levying of assessments upon property to cover the damages and costs; (g) conduct hearings and hear appeals as authorized by ordinance relating to the work of the department, including hearings pertaining to special assessments; (h) on its own initiative or upon complaint, investigate departmental operations and acts of employees and report findings to the Director of Public Works, the Mayor and the Council; (i) approve specifications for public works construction projects; (j) accept completed public works projects, provided that the board may delegate to the Director of Public Works the authority to accept projects involving less than one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) or such other amount prescribed by the board; (k) make recommendations about short- and long-range public works plans and programs to the Mayor and Council; and (l) annually present to the Council at its meeting in the second week of July, a report for the previous fiscal year stating the amount of proceeds from the sale of bonds, the purposes for which those proceeds have been expended, the amount expended, the balance in each bond fund and other information and suggestions as it deems appropriate. The Board of Public Works shall have power to proceed with all such construction and maintenance, and to carry out any of the purposes herein mentioned from any funds under its control and available for such purposes; provided, that nothing in this section shall be construed to abridge the power of the Council to order any work or improvements and to provide the manner of paying therefor, such work or improvement, however, to be done under the superintendence and control of the Board of Public Works.

Los Angeles City Charter § 582 Director of Public Works

Sec. 582. Director of Public Works There shall be a chief administrative officer of the Department of Public Works, known as the Director of Public Works, who shall be appointed and removed as provided in Section 508. Instead of those powers and duties set forth in Section 509, the director shall have the power and duty to: (a) enforce all orders, rules and regulations adopted by the board; (b) administer contracts; (c) supervise and manage construction and maintenance work authorized by the board; (d) approve those public works contracts within the authority delegated to the Director by the board or by ordinance; (e) grant street encroachment and other permits necessary for the temporary use of City rights-of-way; (f) make recommendations to the board about short- and long-range public works plans and programs; (g) oversee the functions of departmental accounting and management-employee services including any bureaus charged with performing those functions, and issue instructions to, appoint, discharge, suspend and transfer the employees that perform those functions, all subject to the civil service provisions of the Charter; (h) recommend to the board prior to the beginning of each fiscal year an annual departmental budget covering the anticipated revenues and expenditures of the department, conforming so far as practicable to the forms and dates provided in Article III in relation to the general City budget; and (i) file with the board and the Mayor a written report on the work of the department on a regular basis as requested by the Mayor or board.

Source: City of Los Angeles, Charter and Codes (American Legal Publishing, codelibrary.amlegal.com)URL: https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/los_angeles/latest/laac/0-0-0-2722Fetched: 10/24/2026