Proposal to consolidate L.A. money offices

It always struck me as strange that the city of L.A. has both an Office of Finance and a City Treasurer. Shouldn't they be doing the same thing? City Controller Wendy Greuel came out with an audit this morning that proposed consolidating the Treasurer's office into other offices that have similar functions. Eventually, the goal would be to have a single department handling all aspects of the city's finances. Seems like a sensible idea. From press release:

"With the City facing a $350 million budget deficit next fiscal year, we must pursue every opportunity to create efficiencies and save money," said City Controller Greuel. "I am recommending that the Treasurer's Office be consolidated with the City's revenue functions in the Office of Finance immediately, bringing Los Angeles in line with the majority of major cities in the country."

This wouldn't necessarily be a huge money saver (the Treasurer's Office budget last year was around $8.5 million). It does, however, point up the opportunities at making the city operate more efficiently and with fewer redundancies - the sort of thinking that you'd find at most businesses.