A recent audit found the L.A. Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) underspent its budget by $108 million in the last fiscal year, mainly because of “program delays.”
This story is free to read because readers choose to support LAist. If you find value in independent local reporting,found the L.A. Homeless Services Authority underspent its overall budget by $108 millionSpecifically to federal dollars, the audit shows LAHSA spent at least $7 million less than it had budgeted last fiscal year.
LAHSA hadSign up for Building Your Block, a seven-issue newsletter course from LAist that explains the obstacles around housing development in L.A. and what you can do to make things better. LAHSA is governed by a 10-member commission that is half appointed by L.A. Mayor Karen Bass, and half appointed by each of the five county supervisors. Bass has served on the commission since she appointed herself to it in fall 2023.
Bass’ office said in a statement that the mayor “has grave concerns about LAHSA and zero tolerance for mismanagement and negligence. ” The federal money suspension puts lives and progress on homelessness at risk, the statement added. The mayor’s office statement says the mayor “previously directed the city to evaluate how to move away from the agency.
” When the City Council considered in March whether to withdraw the city’s funds from LAHSA and instead have the city directly oversee the dollars, Bassthat the city first would need “a serious, thoughtful transition plan,” adding that “the last thing we need is a new department and more bureaucracy. ”The city of L.A. also has been underspending its homelessness budget — to the tune of $513 million in Bass’ first full fiscal year as mayor that ended June 2024,as one of many reasons for their suspension of funds to LAHSA.
The letter incorrectly attributed the full underspend to LAHSA. A controller’s analysis for the following fiscal year, ending June 2025, found the city again underspent its homelessness budget, “Breaking City Hall from its decades old dysfunctional system is how we finally brought homelessness down by 17%,” Bass said in a statement at the time.
“I’m glad to support the controller’s recommendations to further reform the status quo. ”Spending recs for $3.7 million recovered from Andrew Do scheme to be up to his successor Residents of Do’s former district urged supervisors to back away from spending the money in other areas, with many equating that to stealing the money twice from residents. Do’s successor said the funds should support residents of his former district who were deprived by the scheme.
Other supervisors have expressed different views. The federally required audit, known as a single audit, must be done each year by an accounting firm hired by LAHSA.surrounding poor bookkeeping and accounting of taxpayer money at the agency — which spent over $800 million in public funds last fiscal year. The agency’s financial statements initially included “significant” inaccurate amounts that needed to be adjusted late in the audit process, the auditors found.
It found the inaccuracies stemmed from a"significant deficiency” in LAHSA’s “internal controls,” which are supposed to safeguard against financial inaccuracies and fraud. With Phillips 66 oil refinery closing, some South Bay residents worry they’re being left out A task force to improve transparency and community input on cleaning up the oil refinery and redeveloping the property has stalled in Carson.
Vacant tax-funded apartments LAist reported Thursday that LAHSA has been using tax dollars to pay for more than 250 empty apartments as part of an initiative Mayor Karen Bass introduced years ago to make housing readily available to unhoused people. That’s just over a third of the units in the strategy, known as master leasing, according to an LAist review of official data.
The vacancies have been tying up tax dollars — largely overseen by the county — that could house hundreds of people in other approaches, according to official financial data.all of the county’s $300 million-plus in annual funding of services through LAHSA and instead have the county directly manage it starting July 1. Problems identified in the latest audit reiterate why the county pulled its funding, Supervisor Kathryn Barger said in a statement Monday.
The city is considering moving in a similar direction as the county. A key City Council panel — its homelessness committee —the full council start shifting city homelessness funding out of LAHSA over the course of the next fiscal year. Bass urged caution, saying moving too quickly to shift funding could disrupt services for unhoused people. LAHSA has long functioned as the L.A.
’s homeless services department, with over $300 million in city money expected to flow through LAHSA this fiscal year. A previous version of this story misstated how many fewer federal dollars LAHSA spent compared to what it budgeted last fiscal year. LAist regrets the error. You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information.
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