Los Angeles has poured more than $1 billion into homelessness programs, but the city still can’t account for hundreds of millions of dollars in spending — a spending headache Mayor-elect Nithya Raman will inherit.
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Raman → pour → spending
A new report presented Tuesday revealed that the city had spent or committed just $368.9 million of its adjusted homelessness funding by March 31, leaving $636.1 million unspent or not yet committed.
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city → present → million
The findings put a spotlight on the sprawling homelessness bureaucracy Raman has pledged to audit as she vows to cut street encampments by at least 50% before the 2028 Olympics.
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she → put → Olympics
LA has 45,194 homeless residents, including 29,115 living on the streets, despite years of massive taxpayer spending on shelters, housing and other programs.
“We want to ensure that we are tracking every dollar, filling every bed, and delivering the results that Angelenos deserve across every neighborhood,” Raman told The California Post and other reporters Tuesday at City Hall.
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Raman → have → Hall
The scope of the spending challenge emerged in a 23-page report presented to the City Council’s Homelessness and Health Committee.
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scope → emerge → Committee
The city initially approved $953.3 million for homelessness programs in fiscal year 2025–26.
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city → approve → year
Additional funding subsequently pushed the total above $1 billion.
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funding → push → billion
But by March 31, just $368.9 million had been spent or committed, according to the report.
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million → spend → report
City officials said roughly $441 million of the remaining funds was earmarked for multiyear programs, while other money had yet to be assigned to specific uses.
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money → say → uses
The report also exposed wide differences in how quickly city agencies were putting the money to work.
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agencies → expose → money
The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA), which oversees shelters and other services, had spent or committed $165.5 million of its $243.4 million adjusted allocation.
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which → oversee → allocation
The city’s Housing Department, meanwhile, had recorded just $56.4 million in spending or commitments against $238.1 million in funding.
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Department → record → funding
That department’s allocation includes housing construction and tenant assistance programs, which can take years to complete.
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which → include → years
Raman is no stranger to the system she’s about to inherit.
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she → inherit → system
She chaired the City Council’s Housing and Homelessness Committee for three years.
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She → chair → years
Raman also co-sponsored the motion demanding the comprehensive spending report raising questions about how the city tracks its homelessness dollars.
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city → co → dollars
Now Raman will be responsible for managing the same sprawling system she spent years scrutinizing.
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she → manage → years
On Tuesday, she outlined plans to fill empty shelter beds and move homeless residents into permanent housing faster.
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she → outline → housing
“Right now we have a number of beds and facilities across our city that are not all used.
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that → have → city
Our first step is to use what we have now,” Raman said.
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Raman → use → what
She also took aim at the enormous expense of keeping homeless residents in hotels and motels, sometimes for more than a year.
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She → take → year
“People are staying in our shelters, including at very expensive motels and hotels, for a year or more, costing enormous amounts to the city,” she said.
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she → stay → city
Raman pledged to improve case management and expand the use of housing vouchers to move people into less expensive, long-term housing.
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Raman → pledge → housing
But despite her repeated criticism of Mayor Karen Bass’s Inside Safe, she made clear that the program’s central strategy of clearing encampments and moving people indoors will continue, even if the name changes.
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name → repeat → people
“It may not be called Inside Safe anymore.
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It → call → ?
It may not look exactly the way that that program looks, but encampment resolution will continue,” she said.
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she → look → ?
The motion was continued on Tuesday, meaning the committee will take it up again at its next meeting.
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committee → continue → meeting
The Aporia
