LA council member wants city to cut ties with region’s key homeless agency after scathing audit

An L.A. official is taking steps to try and cut the city's ties with the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) in the wake of a scathing county audit that highlighted long-standing issues at the region’s troubled agency.

L.A. City Councilmember Monica Rodriguez, who sits on the council's Housing and Homelessness Committee, introduced a motion Friday that would direct city staff to look into ways the city could directly contract with service providers and bypass LAHSA.

This comes as two top county leaders are proposing a plan that could pull hundreds of millions of tax dollars out of the agency, instead creating a new county department that would give officials more control over how the money is spent.

Council member cites audit's findings

The county audit released earlier this week found LAHSA did not establish agreements with service providers to require them to repay nearly $51 million in advances that the agency provided in 2017 using county taxpayer dollars. By July 2024, only $2.5 million of that money had been paid back.

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Rodriguez cited the audit's findings from the L.A. County Auditor-Controller’s office in a statement, adding that providing public funds without contracts, established metrics, and scope of work amounts to a gift.

“Now is the time for a centralized, transparent system that maximizes taxpayer dollars, saves lives, and addresses homelessness with the focus it deserves,” Rodriguez said.

The details

The motion is one of two she introduced Friday aimed at reforming the way the city addresses homelessness, pointing to financial mismanagement and inefficiencies under LAHSA. Both motions would need to pass a vote from the full City Council to move forward.

Los Angeles Councilmember Monica Rodriguez in City Council chambers in Los Angeles on May 17, 2024.

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Genaro Molina

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Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

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The first motion would direct the city's Chief Legislative Analyst to report back on how the city can work directly with the service providers — and without LAHSA — on all the programs currently funded.

The second motion is designed to help the city get its fair share of Measure A money, according to Rodriguez. If passed, it would call for a report on the provisions of the recently approved ballot measure that would support the city’s housing and homelessness priorities.

Rodriguez is also pushing for the city to create its own department of homelessness, which would report to the mayor and city council.