LAHSA Misses Key Audit As West Hollywood Concerns Persist

LAHSA (Los Angeles Homeless Services Agency), the org that oversees homelessness funding and helps track the homeless count in West Hollywood and across the region, missed a federally required audit deadline this week. This will probably come as no surprise to some as council members have been raising red flags about the agency since at least last year.

The audit missed its March 31 filing due date. Known as a “single audit,” it reviews how LAHSA tracks hundreds of millions of federal dollars, primarily from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

LAHSA interim CEO Gita O’Neill told commissioners the delay followed a year of internal turnover and troubles inside the agency.

“Our staff made a good-faith effort to meet the deadline,” O’Neill said. “However, over the past year, we’ve experienced several transitions.”

Those transitions included leadership changes and pressure within LAHSA’s finance division. The agency has also been dealing with a Los Angeles County review tied to delayed payments to service providers.

The outside accounting firm handling the audit said financial records expected late last year were not submitted until this month, after multiple extended deadlines.

“We’re moving at the fastest pace we possibly can,” said Justin Measley, the firm’s lead auditor.

LAHSA officials said the report is expected within the next few weeks.

The agency manages a large share of the federal and county funding used for homelessness services across Los Angeles County, including Measure H dollars that support outreach, shelter, and housing programs.

Some of those services operate in and around West Hollywood, which remains part of the countywide system.

At a City Council meeting last November, Councilmember John Erickson said he did not see value in continuing to rely on LAHSA programs and questioned whether the agency’s annual homeless count reflects conditions on the ground.

Then-Vice Mayor John Heilman said following that meeting, “We can’t rely on county agencies to provide assistance. We need to focus on what we can do in West Hollywood.”

West Hollywood operates the Holloway Interim Housing program. The City contracts directly for outreach services and runs its own Care Team.

Auditors said a draft version of the report includes what they describe as a “significant deficiency” tied to how quickly the agency identifies and corrects accounting errors.

Commissioners raised concerns during the meeting, including whether they will have time to review the audit before it is finalized.

“I think this year, we were under the gun,” O’Neill said.

LAHSA said it has hired consulting firm KPMG to help overhaul its financial systems, particularly around contractor payments.

“The system we have is not working at all, in finance,” O’Neill said.

Federal housing officials have been in contact with LAHSA about the delay. Agency staff said they are hopeful the late filing will be accepted without penalties.

The audit is now expected within weeks.