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City Controller To Audit LA's Signature Homelessness Program Inside Safe
A homeless encampment under a freeway bridge in L.A. City Council District 15.
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Ethan Ward
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LAist
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City Controller Kenneth Mejia announced Friday that his office will conduct an audit of L.A. Mayor Karen Bass' flagship program to address homelessness.
That program — called Inside Safe — aims to move unhoused people off the street and into temporary housing.
Why now
Mejia made the move after U.S. District Judge David O. Carter said yesterday during a hearing in downtown L.A. that the city of L.A. misled attorneys over promises to clear homeless encampments and add shelter beds to each city council district. Those steps were supposed to happen as part of a 2022 settlement agreement that stemmed from a suit brought against the city of L.A. by the business group L.A. Alliance for Human Rights.
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What Is Inside Safe?
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Inside Safe is L.A. Mayor Karen Bass’ signature program to address homelessness and aims to give people living outdoors immediate quality housing in motels or hotels.
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- The L.A. mayor’s office defines it this way: “Los Angeles’ citywide proactive housing-led strategy to bring people inside from tents and encampments for good, and to prevent encampments from returning.”
- Read Bass’ executive directive issued in December 2022 here.
Questions around the audit
Some city officials have argued that the controller can't audit Inside Safe because it’s under the mayor’s control.
On Thursday, Carter put City Administrative Officer Matt Szabo under oath and questioned him. Szabo said that typically, the city attorney is consulted and a determination is made that programs under the purview of the elected officials, including the mayor, cannot be audited by the controller.
Carter questioned how there can “be public accountability” for mayor’s office programs if the city has no mechanism for audits overseen by a separately elected official.
Why it matters
In a statement, Mejia said the audit was necessary due to "the City’s lack of transparency & accountability on homelessness efforts despite billions of dollars spent.”
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Today, at Judge Carter’s request, I spoke in court about our auditing powers & the City’s lack of transparency & accountability on homelessness efforts despite billions of dollars spent.
— LA City Controller Kenneth Mejia (@lacontroller) March 8, 2024
Based on today & repeated community calls, we are announcing a focused audit on Inside Safe.
The backstory
Last year, LAist reported that required transparency reports for Inside Safe detailing spending were missing. At the time, biweekly reports weren't provided to the council, months after council members ordered them. The council later added stricter oversight rules. The program has also faced persistent data collection problems.
A lot of taxpayer money is at stake — Inside Safe has a budget of $250 million for just this fiscal year.
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