L.A. Controller Accuses City of Wasting Millions on Outside Audits

Los Angeles City Controller Kenneth Meija said Wednesday that the city had wasted millions of dollars on outside audits of its homelessness program rather than using his office for free — then ignored the results.

Meija, a frequent critic of city government, posted a video to X on Wednesday laying out his case:

Meija is no conservative; he is widely considered a “progressive.” Yet frustration with incompetence in local government is not a partsian issue.

While Mayor Karen Bass touts progress in reducing the number of homeless people on the streets — at massive expense, largely achieved by renting or even buying hotel and motel space — millions of dollars allocated to homelessness, both by the city and by nonprofit groups, is wasted.

An audit earlier this year of spending by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) that included programs partly funded by the city government found that billions of dollars could not be accounted for, amid allegations of self-dealing and conflicts of interest by senior executives.

There have been calls for a “Special Master” to be appointed to oversee funding allocated to California fore relief and rebuilding in the wake of the devastating Los Angeles fires earlier this year, precisely because of the pattern of state and local mismanagement that Meija describes in the video.