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City auditor wins council approval to study shelter cost-effectiveness and outcomes
Summary
The City Auditor presented an updated scope for a second audit of the city’s homeless response focused on shelter types, per-bed costs and outcomes; the council approved the scope and staff will begin field work, with the audit expected to take about a year.
The Sacramento City Council on Tuesday approved an updated audit scope from the City Auditor’s Office for a second review of the city's homeless response, directing auditors to analyze which shelter types deliver the best outcomes and value for money.
City Auditor Frishta Arari told the council the audit will classify city‑funded shelter types (emergency shelters, navigation centers and congregate shelters), analyze cost per bed or per client, and evaluate how effectively each model helps people exit homelessness using data from the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS). The audit will include contract and budget reviews, interviews with city staff and service providers, and benchmarking against peer cities.
Nut graf: The scope change responds to council concerns about program effectiveness and equity; auditors aim to produce evidence to guide future funding and policy decisions about shelter models and related investments.
Arari said the first audit, of the city motel program, is complete and will be presented to the council the following week. For the second audit, she said staff will begin detailed fieldwork and analysis soon, with an expected timeline of roughly a year to produce findings. Councilmembers asked that the audit also examine “good neighbor” policies tied to shelter operations and whether those community agreements are being implemented.
Councilmember Maple urged the audit to evaluate whether the city is meeting commitments in good‑neighbor agreements, citing recurring neighborhood complaints near a navigation center in her district. Auditors agreed to include review of those policies as part of the scope. Councilmember Vang requested the timeline; the City Auditor said a performance audit of this scale typically takes about a year, though schedule adjustments could occur because of other mandated work.
The council moved and seconded the scope proposal; the measure passed on a unanimous vote with one member absent. Councilmembers asked auditors to prioritize analysis of per‑bed costs and outcomes and to identify practices linked to better results.
Ending: The auditor will begin fieldwork and return to the council with findings that staff said are intended to inform shelter funding, program design and neighborhood mitigation strategies.
