The Brief

Update: LA County to strip hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars from troubled agency overseeing homelessness

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors made a big move Tuesday, pulling more than $300 million in funding away from the region’s beleaguered homelessness services agency.

The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority — or LAHSA — has been under fire in recent months after several audits showed the agency had failed to track billions in homelessness spending and could not adequately account for what city and county taxpayers received.

Late last year, Supervisors Lindsey Horvath and Kathryn Barger introduced the motion that was heard by the full board today (Tuesday, April 1) during its regular meeting. The board voted, 4-0, with Supervisor Holly Mitchell abstaining.

That means the end to county funding for LAHSA and the beginning of a new county department to oversee homelessness programs. Funding would shift to the county by July 1, 2026.

The vote comes after a hearing last week in federal court, where Judge David O. Carter scolded L.A. city officials for their failure to track spending on homelessness, called for a forensic audit to look into allegations of fraud and abuse, and warned that the court may order a third-party to take control.

“This is a slow train wreck,” Carter told the officials, adding he would not be complicit by doing nothing to change the situation.

Here are five takeaways from the court hearing:

1. The judge is pushing for a new audit

During the hearing, Carter asked for a new audit of LAHSA that would look into where money from taxpayers in the city of L.A. went for homelessness programs like the mayor’s Inside Safe initiative.

Carter said that if the city doesn’t agree to a forensic audit, he would consider drastic measures like ordering a third-party receiver to step in.

He commended City Controller Kenneth Mejia’s work on an audit last year that looked at L.A.’s work with LAHSA to get unhoused people into permanent housing. The audit found that the number of people who moved from temporary to permanent housing between 2019 and 2023 was “woefully inadequate.”

Carter asked whether Mejia would be able to conduct a new audit.

Mejia said he could do it. But Bass resisted.

The mayor told the judge she believes it would be improper “for one elected official to audit another.”

Mejia disagreed.

A couple days after the hearing, Mejia posted a video on social media with headlines from LAist and the Los Angeles Times about the court hearing in front of Carter and the city’s budget deficit. Text displayed on the video asks what else Mejia does as L.A.’s controller “besides making awesome videos” that let people know what’s going on in the city.

The answer, also in text form, that appears in the video — as Mejia and others, including a few dogs, step to a Kendrick Lamar song — is that his department is “about to release an audit & a Fraud, Waste, & Abuse Investigation.”

2. Will the city of L.A. get a new homelessness czar?

Carter said he would take “drastic” measures if Bass and Mejia could not agree on a forensic audit. He said he would consider ordering a third-party receiver, or homelessness czar, to take over the city’s homelessness efforts.

Carter said the bureaucracy now in place is “doomed to failure.” He noted, however, that if a third party stepped in, it would need power over the city budget. He acknowledged that tapping a third-party to step in might be viewed as judicial overreach.

The judge also said he was open to ordering the city to stop making payments to homelessness service providers until they can show that they’ve made public, by posting on a website, information about where the funds from the city are being spent.

3. Carter’s frustrations with LAHSA

An independent audit, released last month, looked at about $2.4 billion the city of L.A. spent over a four-year period ending last year. It found that LAHSA had made it impossible to accurately track homeless spending because it had failed to collect accurate data on vendors and hold them accountable.

Carter pointed to several audits conducted since 2007 that showed similar problems within LAHSA, and he criticized the agency’s CEO, Va Lecia Adams Kellum, for not being present at last week’s court hearing.

Had she been there, the judge said, he would have pressed her on further auditing of LAHSA — just as he had with Bass and Mejia.

“There’s no transparency,” Carter said, referring to the agency. “There’s no accountability.”

An investigation by LAist found that Adams Kellum signed a $2.1 million contract and two contract amendments between the agency and her husband’s employer, an apparent violation of state conflict of interest laws. Adams Kellum had previously told LAist she followed rules barring her from any matters that involve the group.

LAist also reported last December that many LAHSA employees had failed to file state-mandated financial disclosures as required by state law. The agency acknowledged that around 300 staffers should have filed disclosures but did not. As of Friday, Adams Kellum said, 75% of LAHSA staff were in compliance and the rest would comply by June 2.

The L.A. City Council has also voted to explore the possibility of breaking from LAHSA.

4. Questions about the point-in-time homeless count

During the hearing, Carter criticized LAHSA officials for their decision to release incomplete data from this year’s point-in-time homeless count months earlier than expected.

Officials said the full results, which they expect to announce in the summer, would likely show a decrease of 5% to 10% of people living without shelter in L.A. County.

Carter said he viewed the release of unverified numbers from the count as “political gamesmanship” and is skeptical of their accuracy.

“My view is that they're in a political battle for their lives right now,” Carter said.

5. County supervisors weigh in  

Barger, chair of the county Board of Supervisors, is one of two board members who authored the motion to pull county money out of LAHSA. She said during the court hearing last week that responsibility for how the money is spent is “on the county.”

And she said the board intends to work with all parts of the county to remedy the accountability and transparency issues.

County Supervisor Hilda Solis issued a statement to LAist in early March that indicated she supports the idea of the county pulling out of LAHSA and creating a new department, because “it will continue to reform a system that has long been broken.”

This story first appeared on The LA Local.

Since 1977, Richard Santillan has been to every Opening Day game at Dodger Stadium. 

“The tradition goes from my father, to me, to my children and grandchildren. Some of my best memories are with my father and children here at Dodger Stadium,” Santillan told The LA Local, smiling under the shade of palm trees near the entrance to the ballpark Wednesday morning. He was there to protest the team less than 24 hours before Opening Day.

Santillan, like countless other loyal Dodgers fans, is grappling with his fan identity over the team’s decision to accept an invitation to the White House and owner Mark Walter’s ties to ICE detention facilities.

More than 30 people joined Santillan on Wednesday morning for a press conference held near 1000 Vin Scully Drive to convey a message directly to the team. 

“We are demanding the Dodgers stop participating in funding of inhumane treatment of families and do not go to the White House to celebrate with the criminal in chief,” Evelyn Escatiola told the crowd. “Together, we have the power to make a change.”

Escatiola, a former dean of East Los Angeles College and longtime community organizer, urged fans to flex their economic power by “letting the Dodgers know that we do not support repression.”

Jorge “Coqui” Rodriguez, a lifelong Dodgers fan, spoke to the crowd and called on Dodgers ownership to divest from immigration detention centers owned and operated by GEO Group and CoreCivic.

Jorge Coqui H Rodriguez speaks at a press conference outside Dodger Stadium on March 25, 2026, to demand the Dodgers not to visit the White House following their 2025 World Series win.

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J.W. Hendricks

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The LA Local

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In a phone interview a day before the protest, Rodriguez told The LA Local he did not want the Dodgers using his “cheve” or beer money to fund detention centers. 

“They can’t take our parking money, our cacahuate money, our cheve money, our Dodger Dog money and invest those funds into corporations that are imprisoning people. It’s wrong,” Rodriguez said. 

Rodriguez considers the Dodgers one of the most racially diverse teams and said the players need to support fans at a time when heightened immigration enforcement has become more common across L.A.

The team’s 2025’s visit to the White House drew ire from the largely Latino fan base, citing the Trump administration’s ongoing attacks on immigrants. 

In June, the team came under further scrutiny when rumors swirled online that federal immigration agents were using the stadium’s parking, which immigration authorities later denied in statements posted on social media accounts.

The team again came under fire after not releasing a statement on the impacts of ICE raids on its mostly Latino fan base at the height of immigration enforcement last summer. The team later agreed to invest $1 million to support families affected by immigration enforcement.

When he learned the Dodgers were pledging only $1 million to families in need, Rodriguez called the amount a  “slap in the face.” 

“These guys just bought the Lakers for billions of dollars and they give a million dollars to fight for legal services? That’s a joke,” Rodriguez said. “They need to have a moral backbone and not be investing in those companies.”

According to reporting from the Los Angeles Times, former Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershawsaid last week that he is looking forward to the trip.

“I went when President [Joe] Biden was in office. I’m going to go when President [Donald] Trump is in office,” Kershaw said. “To me, it’s just about getting to go to the White House. You don’t get that opportunity every day, so I’m excited to go.”

The Dodgers have yet to announce when their planned visit will take place. 

Santillan sometimes laments his decision to give up his season tickets in protest of the team. His connection to the stadium and the memories he has made there with family and friends will last a lifetime, he said. On Thursday, he will uphold his tradition and be there for the first pitch of the season, but with a heavy heart.

“It’s a family tradition, but the Dodgers have a lot of work to do,” he said.

A local favorite mom-and-pop bookshop in Eagle Rock is facing displacement due to a steep rent hike. The owners say theirs is just one of several small businesses along Eagle Rock Boulevard struggling to keep up with lease increases.

Over the past 19 years, many in the neighborhood have come to love READ Books for its eclectic collection of used titles and shop dog Florence.

Co-owner Jeremy Kaplan said it’s been a delight to grow with the community over the years.

“Like seeing kids come back in, who were in grade school and now they’re in college,” Kaplan said.

But the building where Kaplan and wife Debbie rent was recently sold, and the rent increased by more than 130% to $2,805 a month, Kaplan said. He told LAist it was an increase his small business simply could not absorb.

Kaplan said he originally was given 30 days notice of the rent increase. After some research, assistance from Councilmember Ysabel Jurado’s office and some pro-bono legal help, Kaplan said he pushed back and got the 90-day notice he’s afforded by state law.

California Senate Bill 1103 requires landlords to give businesses with five or less employees 90 days’ notice for rent increases exceeding 10%, among other protections.

Systems Real Estate, the property management company, did not immediately respond to LAist’s request for comment.

What can small businesses do? 

Nadia Segura, directing attorney of the Small Business Program at pro bono legal aid non-profit Bet Tzedek said California law does not currently allow for rent control for commercial tenancies.

Outside of the protections under SB 1103, Segura said small businesses like READ Books don’t have much other recourse. And even then, commercial landlords are not required to inform their tenants of their protections under the law.

“There’s still a lot of people that don’t know about SB 1103. And then it’s very sad that they tell them they have these rent increases and within a month they have to leave,” Segura said.

She said her group is seeing steep rent hikes like this for commercial tenants across the city.

“We are seeing this even more with the World Cup coming up, the Olympics coming up. And I will say it was very sad to see that also after the wildfires,” Segura said.

Part of Bet Tzedek’s ongoing work is to advocate for small businesses, working with landlords who are increasing rents to see if they are willing to give business owners longer leases that lock in rents.

What’s next 

After READ Books posted about their situation on social media, commenters chimed in to express their outrage and love for the little shop.

While he looks for a new spot, Kaplan says he’s forming a coalition of local businesses and activist groups to see what can be done to help other small businesses facing similar displacement. He wants to address the displacement issue for businesses like his, which have made Eagle Rock the distinctive neighborhood that it is today.

Owl Talk, a longtime Eagle Rock staple selling clothing and accessories in a unit in the same building as READ Books, is facing a “more than double” rent increase, according to a post on their Instagram account.

Kaplan said he’s been in touch with the office of state Assemblywoman Jessica Caloza and wants to explore the possibility of introducing legislation to set up protections for small businesses like his, including rent-control measures or a vacancy tax for landlords. Kaplan said he also reached out to the office of state Sen. Maria Durazo.

By his count, Kaplan said there are about a dozen businesses within surrounding blocks that are at risk of closing their doors or have shuttered due to rent increases or other struggles.

When READ Books was founded during the Great Recession, Kaplan said he knew it was a longshot to open a bookstore at the same time so many were struggling to stay in business.

“It was kind of interesting to be doing something that neighborhoods needed. That was important to me growing up, that was important to my children, that was important to my wife growing up,” Kaplan said.

“And then somebody comes in and says, ‘We’re gonna over double your rent.”

Topline:

Frozen budget: Most of the city’s Bureau of Street Lighting budget comes from an assessment that people who own property illuminated by lights pay on their county property tax bill. The amount people pay depends on the kind of property they own and how much they benefit from lighting. A typical single-family home currently pays $53 annually, and in total, the assessments bring in about $45 million annually for the city to repair and maintain streetlights. Changing the amount the Bureau of Street Lighting gets from the assessment requires a vote among property owners who benefit from the lights.

Ballots: L.A. City Council’s vote gives city staff the green light to prepare and send out those ballots. Miguel Sangalang, who oversees the bureau, said at a committee meeting earlier this month that he expects to send out ballots by April 17. Notices about the ballots will be sent out prior to the ballots themselves.

Near unanimous vote: L.A. City Councilmember Monica Rodriguez was the only “No” vote Tuesday, saying she wanted to see a more current strategic plan for the bureau. Sangalang said the bureau developed a plan in 2022 that lays out how money will be spent. Councilmember Imelda Padilla was absent for the vote.

Vote count: Votes will be weighted according to the assessment amount. Basically, the more you’re asked to pay yearly to maintain streetlights, the more your vote will count. Ballots received before June 2 will be tabulated by the L.A. City Clerk.

How much more money: According to a report, the amount needed in assessments from property owners to meet the repair and maintenance needs of the city’s streetlighting in the next fiscal year is nearly $112 million.

Use of the money: Sangalang said at a March 11 committee meeting that the extra funds would be used to double the number of staff to handle repairs and procure solar streetlights, which don’t face the threat of copper wire theft. That would all potentially reduce the time it takes to repair simple fixes down to a week. Currently, city residents wait for months to see broken streetlights repaired. The assessment would come with a three-year auditing mechanism.