Council votes to shift homelessness management from LAHSA, directs in-house oversight

The Los Angeles City Council voted to move management and oversight of some homelessness services away from the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) and toward city-run systems, Councilmember Rodriguez said during the meeting. The motion passed on a voice vote with 15 ayes.

Councilmember Rodriguez framed the motion as a response to a county controller audit that she said found “tens of millions of dollars that were issued to service providers without scope of work, without contracts.” She told colleagues “we can't continue to fund the failure” and urged the council to bring the work in-house to increase oversight and accountability.

The motion, introduced by Rodriguez, asked the city attorney to report back with a clearer accounting of financial risk within one month, outline progress on the lawsuit and discussions with plaintiffs in three months, and study the feasibility of moving management of related lawsuits and services into city departments once outside counsel funding is exhausted. The council approved the original recommendation after a failed effort to substitute alternative language.

Why it matters: LAHSA is the region’s principal coordinating body for homelessness services; moving functions or money away from it would change how programs are administered and monitored. Councilmember Rodriguez and others said the action is intended to improve transparency and deliver services more reliably.

Councilmember Rodriguez cited the county controller’s audit and her office’s own work to support the motion. The council did not adopt a detailed implementation plan at the meeting; the motion directs follow-up reports from the city attorney to spell out risks and next steps.

The vote: the council approved the council file on the original recommendation; the clerk recorded the item as approved after the substitute motion failed. The meeting record shows the council ultimately approved the item with a majority of the chamber.

Looking ahead: the motion requests multiple follow-up reports from the city attorney and signals a city-level review of funding flows and contract oversight for homelessness services. Further changes would depend on the content of those reports and subsequent council action.