A federal judge excoriated Los Angeles city and county officials, including Mayor Karen Bass, over their lack of oversight in tracking more than $2 billion spent on homeless programs and threatened to appoint a court-ordered receiver to take over, according to reports.
In addition to Bass, U.S. District Court Judge David O. Carter ripped into City Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson, LA County Board of Supervisors Chair Kathryn Barger, and City Controller Kenneth Mejia over an audit that showed lack of accountability and tracking into roughly $2.4 billion spent on homeless programs.
"This is a slow train wreck," Carter said during Thursday's hearing.
Carter ordered the audit that earlier this month found that the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA), the agency that the city and county have outsourced for sheltering and feeding the homeless, failed to track and report on how the money was spent.
"Nobody is asking our providers what they did or what services they performed," Carter said.
"The audit showed there were a lot of problems. We already know this, and we are doing everything we can to address these problems. I think that this was a productive hearing, but we know we have much, much more to do," said Mayor Bass.
Also at issue is Bass' Inside Safe program. Bass won't allow performance audits, citing the city charter and asserting that one elected official can't audit another, an assertion disputed by the controller.
Carter gave the officials until May to address issues raised before he rules whether to appoint a receivership.
"Folks, you've got to solve this, or else the court is going to step in," Carter said. "I am your worst nightmare. I can make your lives miserable."
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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