HOMELESS AGENCY GIVEN SCATHING REVIEW IN REPORT.Byline: Beth Barrett Staff Writer The Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. Homeless Services Authority has only $700,000 in the bank to cover $5 million it owes to its service providers, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. a stinging joint city-county report released Tuesday. City Controller Laura Chick, who conducted the study with county Auditor-Controller Tyler McCauley, said the agency is more than 30 days late in meeting two-thirds of its obligations, at a time when the demand for services to the homeless is greater than ever. ``They kind of are broke; its operations are in a mess,'' she said. ``It's not a balance sheet anyone wants.'' The agency's executive director, Mitchell Netburn, said while funding increased dramatically from the city and county for programs over the past couple of years, there was not a corresponding increase in funds for administration. ``We look forward to working as a team with the city and the county to resolve these issues as quickly as possible.'' The city and county created the agency in 1993 to fund and direct local agencies engaged in helping the county's 90,000 homeless get off the streets. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa Antonio Ramon Villaraigosa (born Antonio (Tony) Ramon Villar, Jr. on January 23, 1953) is the mayor of Los Angeles, California. He is the first Latino mayor of Los Angeles since Cristobal Aguilar in 1872. , who campaigned on working with Chick to make city government more efficient and accountable, said he is assigning a ``technical support team'' - including the city's Housing and Community Development departments, as well as a private auditing and accounting firm, to correct the problems identified in the review. The mayor said he's also working with the county to create a management oversight team, ``to take corrective action A corrective action is a change implemented to address a weakness identified in a management system. Normally corrective actions are instigated in response to a customer complaint, abnormal levels if internal nonconformity, nonconformities identified during an internal audit or quickly and ... to ensure that there is no interruption in the delivery of services to the homeless.'' ``Homelessness is one of Los Angeles' most pressing problems,'' Villaraigosa said in a statement. ``We cannot afford to allow the agency responsible for homeless services to put this vulnerable population and the many fine organizations that provide services to them at risk because of poor management.'' The agency has a fiscal 2006 budget of $48.6 million, including $4.6 million in city general funds, and $4 million in county general funds. The remaining funds are largely grants. County Chief Administrative Officer A chief administrative officer (CAO) is responsible for administrative management of private, public or governmental corporations. The CAO is one of the highest ranking members of an organization, managing daily operations and usually reporting directly to the chief executive David E. Janssen said in a July 18 letter to county supervisors that the findings of the joint review ``confirm many of the contractors' allegations'' of the agency not executing contracts in a timely fashion and of being significantly tardy tar·dy adj. tar·di·er, tar·di·est 1. Occurring, arriving, acting, or done after the scheduled, expected, or usual time; late. 2. Moving slowly; sluggish. in paying invoices. ``LAHSA LAHSA Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (California) subcontractors have reported significant delays in receiving payments for services, which could jeopardize jeop·ard·ize tr.v. jeop·ard·ized, jeop·ard·iz·ing, jeop·ard·izes To expose to loss or injury; imperil. See Synonyms at endanger. their ability to continue providing services,'' the report said. Chick said the authority needs to take ``immediate action to correct these serious issues'' as the need grows. Added City Councilwoman Wendy Greuel Wendy Greuel is President Pro Tempore of the Los Angeles City Council representing the 2nd District. Greuel was elected in 2002 to fill the remainder of the term of Councilman Joel Wachs. She was elected in her own right in 2003 and reelected in 2007. , ``The city's books should not be balanced on the back of nonprofit agencies working tirelessly to help the homeless.'' Beth Barrett, (818) 713-3731 beth.barrett(at)dailynews.com |
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