LOS ANGELES (CNS) – Mayor Karen Bass Thursday marks her two-year anniversary of taking office, representing progress made over the last 12 months in reducing homelessness, supporting businesses and improving public safety, among other efforts.
Bass has no plans for any celebratory events, according to her office. On Wednesday, she concluded the final leg of a multi-day tour across the city aimed at highlighting her administration’s accomplishments.
Among them, Bass touted more than 23,000 unhoused people moving into temporary housing, an increase of 5,300 compared to 2022, and permanent housing placements nearly doubled as well.
Nearly 7,400 Angelenos moved into permanent housing placements from temporary housing, representing an increase of 1,500 people over 2023 and double compared to 2022.
Additionally, 8,866 unhoused residents found permanent housing as a result of several programs, such as a combination of Housing Choice, Project Based and VASH housing vouchers. Another 4,000 people were able to use emergency vouchers to find homes.
The mayor also highlighted the success of her Inside Safe initiative, which has brought down more than 75 encampments across the city, and brought 3,600 people into temporary housing.
Efforts to increase the city’s affordable housing stock have been undertaken too through the mayor’s first executive directive, streamlining permits for such projects and bringing online more than 2,000 units.
During her tour, the mayor noted a 25% decrease in homicides and victims shot citywide since 2022, and a four-year-high of applicants seeking employment with the Los Angeles Police Department — which has been a goal of hers to bolster the rank-and-file of officers.
The city installed more than 250 speed humps and implemented 450 school slow zones, has made 180 quick-build intersection improvements in an effort to prevent hit-and-runs of students and parents walking to and from schools.
More than 200 solar street lights were installed in the San Fernando Valley, along the Los Angeles River and other neighborhoods in a bid to combat rampant copper wire theft, which has left many parts of the city in the dark.
Other areas of progress were made in addressing climate change and supporting businesses in Los Angeles.
An estimated 250,000 homes are powered by clean energy, such as solar or electric, through the Eland Solar & Storage Center, a large-scale solar installation and battery storage system.
Businesses secured more than $18 million in financial assistance with help from the city. The Al Fresco Outdoor Dining Program will be accepting applications from restaurant owners through Dec. 31, 2025.
Meanwhile, a city-county homeless service agency has drawn criticism for financial-control issues.
A county Auditor-Controller Audit report cited concerns with the Los Angeles Services Homeless Services Authority’s management of homeless funding. County supervisors approved a plan to explore the creation of a department to centralize homeless services — similar to what L.A. City Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez has proposed citing similar challenges with LAHSA.
On Tuesday, City Controller Kenneth Mejia released the findings of a separate audit examining the performance of LAHSA in placing people from temporary to permanent housing.
Over a five-year period from 2019 to 2023, one in four city-funded shelter beds went unused, costing L.A. taxpayers an estimated $218 million. Nearly one in three people who wanted a shelter bed were unable to secure one during the 2022-23 fiscal year, data showed.
City Council members are in the middle of exploring whether to secure bonds to address a deficit of nearly $300 million due to overspending. More than one-third of that is due to liability payouts, accounting for $112 million.
Elected officials enacted a hiring freeze in the beginning of the year, which may continue as the city deals with a multi-year deficit caused by overspending and new labor contracts with unions representing its workforce. There’s also been discussion of cutting services and having departments bear some of the brunt in their budgets.
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