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In the same week that Gov. Gavin Newsom’s council on homelessness blamed local governments for a state audit report that found California has failed to track how billions of dollars have been spent trying to tackle the homelessness crisis, the Los Angeles City Council agreed to pay an outside firm $2.2 million to audit its own programs.
A federal judge in California, U.S. District Judge David O. Carter, requested last month an independent audit of Los Angeles’ homelessness programs, accusing the city of failing to do enough to significantly curb the problem in recent years. City and county officials are also demanding that its lead homeless service provider release data about its efforts.
The $2.2 million agreement is roughly half of what the independent firm, selected by Carter, originally requested. It’s unclear why the amount was reduced.
FLORIDA HOUSE PASSES BILL TO PROHIBIT HOMELESS PEOPLE FROM SLEEPING IN PUBLIC
Homeless encampments line the streets in Oakland, California, on Friday, March 15, 2024. The city remains plagued by homelessness as nearby businesses close their doors due to safety concerns. (DWS for Fox News Digital)
The audit comes after a lawsuit filed by the LA Alliance for Human Rights — a coalition of business owners and residents — argued that the city hasn’t honored its 2020 settlement agreement that promised it would build thousands of shelters and sweep out homeless encampments.
The coalition urged Carter to sanction the city and pay up to $6.4 million for not meeting the settlement’s terms.
“At a time when the City and County of Los Angeles are spending record levels of taxpayer dollars to address homelessness, somehow the impacts to individuals and neighborhoods are only getting worse,” a spokesperson for the LA Alliance, Daniel Conway, told Fox News Digital. “We are long past due for a hard look at how these dollars are being spent, and the programs used to do the work.”
GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM FACES RECKONING WITH $73B BUDGET DEFICIT…
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