New analysis by LA city controller says at least $513M meant to help the homeless went unspent 

Los Angeles city officials underspent on addressing homelessness by over a half billion dollars in the most recent fiscal year, according to a new analysis by the L.A. City Controller’s Office.

About the findings

In a news release issued Thursday, the office said it found that the city did not spend at least $513 million in public funds that were budgeted to help with the city’s homeless crisis during fiscal year 2024, out of the total $1.3 billion budgeted.

• The office attributed its findings of unspent funds to “a sluggish, inefficient [city] approach that is incompatible with timely spending.” It said a lack of staff and old technology contributed to the spending problems.
• The office tracks homelessness spending by implementing accounting codes and matching the budget with actual spending with confirmations by departments, according to the news release. 
• The release states that L.A. City Controller Kenneth Mejia’s office is the first-ever in the city to formally track homelessness spending, saying “it was never previously tracked at a methodical, organized level.”
• You can view a full breakdown of what the L.A. City Controller’s Office says was unspent here — see the chart at the bottom of the page.

Key quote

“The City had a record high homelessness budget at its fingertips but failed to spend over half a billion dollars of it,” Mejia said.

Some context