LOS ANGELES (CNS) – The governing body overseeing the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority is expected to appoint a new, interim chief executive Friday as the agency prepares to downsize in the coming months.
The 10-member LAHSA Commission will meet at 8:30 a.m. Friday to vote on whether to confirm the appointment of Gita O’Neill, who handles homelessness policy in the Los Angeles City Attorney’s office.
If approved, the commission will negotiate a 12-month contract with O’Neill to lead the joint city-county homeless agency during a time when the organization is set to lose $300 million in funding and reduce its staff.
The current CEO, Va Lecia Adams Kellum, will step down from the position Friday after two and half years at the helm. She announced her resignation shortly after the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted in March to establish a new homelessness department.
O’Neill would receive a monthly base salary of $30,833.30, or approximately $370,000 a year — a reduction compared to Adams Kellum’s base salary of $430,000 a year.
In her resignation letter to the LAHSA Commission, Adams Kellum wrote it was the “right time” for her to step down after county leaders implemented a recommendation from the 2020 Blue Ribbon Commission on Homelessness that called for shifting key responsibilities from the agency to a centralized department.
“I am incredibly proud of LAHSA’s talented and dedicated staff and deeply grateful for their tireless work. I thank them and the Commission for the opportunity to serve as CEO and for our partnership in reducing homelessness in our region,” Adams Kellum wrote.
Under her leadership, the agency touted a reduction in unsheltered homelessness for a second year in a row.
The annual point-in-time homeless count showed there was a 4% decrease in homeless people across the county, while in the city of Los Angeles, there was a 3.4% drop.
The new county homelessness department is expected to be in place by Jan. 1, with Measure A — the 2024 half-cent tax to fund homelessness and housing efforts — funding pulled from LAHSA and transferred to the county entity by July 1, 2026.
LAHSA has come under fire for its lack of transparency in addition to spending millions and not alleviating the homelessness crisis, such criticisms have only intensified following scathing audits.
Those audits have found that the agency provided dollars to nonprofit services providers in past years without formal agreements to determine how and when the funds would be repaid. LAHSA has taken steps to recoup that money.
A court-ordered audit found that the agency made it impossible to accurately track spending or the performance outcomes of its vendors. The agency has made a commitment to improve data tracking, and has released tools on its website to do so.
LAist also reported on alleged ethics violations by Adams Kellum when she signed off on a $2.1 million contract with her husband’s employer — in which she has denied any wrongdoing.
LAHSA officials have disputed the findings of these audits and urged officials to continue their partnership.
The agency contracted Norton Rose Fullbright as outside counsel in March to conduct an independent review of allegations.
“Norton Rose Fullbright concluded its three month review and determined that (Upward Bound House) was already a LAHSA subcontractor, and specifically for U.S. Housing and Urban Development Continuum of Care programs, before Dr. Adams Kellum became LAHSA’s CEO,” a report from Fullbright reads
Adams Kellum’s husband, Edward Kellum, serves as Upward Bound House’s director of operations and compliance.
Recent Comments