The books of the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority will be audited by the county’s top accountants and department heads as a result of a motion approved by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, Feb. 27.
“As Los Angeles County continues to combat the humanitarian crisis that is homelessness, every entity that plays a role in ending the crisis must be challenged, evaluated, and supported to ensure optimal performance,” stated the motion passed by a vote of 5-0 without board discussion.
LAHSA’s role is to coordinate homeless services in Los Angeles County. It also organizes and conducts the point-in-time homeless count every year. The last annual count took place the nights of Jan. 23 through Jan. 25. Results of the count are not expected until late spring or early summer, LAHSA reported. The board on Tuesday, Feb. 6, ordered a review of the 2024 point-in-time count to determine its accuracy.
Results of the 2023 count found 75,518 homeless people in L.A. County.
LAHSA’s 2022-2023 budget totaled $845.4 million. Of that, $726.2 million went to service providers. Of the service providers budget, about $662 million was allocated for interim and permanent housing, according to LAHSA documents. And $40.3 million of the total budget was for LAHSA administration.
“The intention of this audit is to provide a clear and accurate picture of the financial health and practices of LAHSA to best inform incoming financial leadership and staff,” the motion concluded. LAHSA is hiring a new chief financial officer, the county reported.
In the past year, Supervisors Lindsey Horvath and Kathryn Barger appointed themselves to the LAHSA Commission, the governing board of the agency. Horvath is chair of the commission.
Va Lecia Adams Kellum was appointed the agency’s new chief executive officer and took over leadership on March 26, 2023. Her base salary is $430,000, according to a LAHSA staff report.
New Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority CEO Va Lecia Adams Kellum speaks to the media after 20 days as the new head of LAHSA. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
“This financial audit is a proactive step to help LAHSA leadership, our board, and importantly, the public, see where LAHSA’s fiscal operations are strong and where we have an opportunity to do better,” said Horvath in a statement on Tuesday.
The motion directs the county’s auditor-controller and chief executive officer to examine how LAHSA handles its finance, contracts, procurement, risk management and grants, areas that apparently are operated as separate sections. “These units cannot function in silos,” the supervisors’ motion stated.
“Success must be determined not only by the individual unit’s competencies, but by each unit’s ability to work in an integrated manner,” the motion urged.
The county auditors will work with LAHSA’s leadership, including CEO Adams Kellum.
“When I was hired, I spoke of creating a new LAHSA focused on achieving lasting results and the highest level of transparency. After reviewing our financial practices over the last 11 months, I knew changes were needed,” Adams Kellum said in an emailed response.
“LAHSA looks forward to working collaboratively and in partnership with the Auditor-Controller’s Office to improve our financial practices to serve our unsheltered neighbors better,” she added.
Earlier this month, the Board of Supervisors approved $672.3 million for homeless services and prevention in the 2024-2025 county budget. Of that, $617.5 million will come from Measure H funds and nearly $55 million will come from the state’s Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention Program (HHAP).
Measure H is a 1/4-cent sales tax measure passed by voters in L.A. County in 2017 to address the homeless crisis. Measure H was estimated to raise about $355 million a year for 10 years, through 2027. But the revenues have exceeded that amount in the last few years.
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