Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass told a federal judge Friday that the city will pay for an independent audit of her $250 million Inside Safe homelessness program.
U.S. District Judge David O. Carter heard arguments Thursday and Friday in a lawsuit brought by the L.A. Alliance for Human Rights, which claims the city has failed to meet benchmarks for shelter bed creation stipulated in a 2022 settlement. City Controller Kenneth Mejia was called to testify Friday on whether his office can audit Inside Safe’s spending.
Bass, who’s currently in Paris to prepare for the 2028 Olympic Games, called Carter and told him the city will fund an independent audit of the program. The judge will be responsible for selecting the auditor.
Councilmember Monica Rodriguez told KNX News’ Craig Fiegener an audit is long overdue.
“Unfortunately, the council nor the taxpayers have gotten clear answers, and that’s what has, in my opinion, emboldened people’s frustrations,” she said. “You hear about it anecdotally from unhoused individuals that say that, you know, they don't see certain outreach workers consistently, and so there are some critical failures and we need to tighten up all of these pieces.”
Rodriguez said there needs to be “very clear outcomes associated with every dollar expended” by Inside Safe, and there currently isn’t enough transparency to make that call.
The L.A. Alliance sued the city and county of L.A. in 2020, demanding the immediate creation of shelter and housing to address the homelessness crisis. The city agreed in a settlement to create a total of 5,190 shelter and treatment beds by the end of 2023, but the coalition’s attorneys contend that only 2,810 beds have been created.
"The Alliance is in no way convinced that the city will do what it promised," attorney Elizabeth Mitchell, who represents the group, told the court. "These beds have to be produced, people have to be protected."
In the past 14 months, she said, 2,000 unhoused persons have died on the streets of Los Angeles. Mitchell suggested that the city should be fined $100,000 per week until it met its deadlines.
The L.A. Alliance asked Carter to fine the city $6.4 million for violating the settlement.
In a written response, City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto said the city "was in full compliance with its obligations under the Settlement Agreement and that the L.A. Alliance has suffered no actual damages as a result of any delay. On that basis alone, the motion should be summarily denied."
Carter said Thursday he was “uncomfortable” with the proposed $6.4 million fine, but suggested there’s too much waste in the city’s homelessness spending and more monitoring is necessary to make sure goals are being met.
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Bass and Council President Paul Krekorian will appear in court March 18 to formalize the audit offer.
City News Service contributed to this report.
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