LA’s $1B homeless spending mess lands in Raman’s lap as she faces daunting financial cleanup

Los Angeles has allocated more than $1 billion to homelessness programmes, but a city report found that hundreds of millions had not been spent or committed by the end of March. The shortfall and uneven spending across departments will be a major management challenge for mayor-elect Nithya Raman, who has pledged to audit the system and reduce street encampments.

The report said $368.9 million of adjusted funding had been spent or committed, leaving $636.1 million unspent or not yet committed; officials said about $441 million of the balance was set aside for multiyear programmes. The city counted 45,194 homeless residents, including 29,115 living on the streets. Raman said she wants to use vacant shelter beds, move people into permanent housing faster and continue encampment clearances, while relying more on vouchers and improving case management.