Unleashing Los Angeles: Revealing $73 Million in Dormant Funds and Urging Action for City's Progress

The city of Los Angeles has approximately $73 million sitting idle in special funds that haven't been used for at least two years, according to a report from City Controller Kenneth Mejia.

Out of the 203 special funds, 62 of them have remained untouched for over a decade, highlighting a lack of utilization of public resources.

Mejia recommends that city departments spend about $51 million, including $10 million specifically allocated for housing and homelessness programs.

The report emphasizes the need for transparency, accountability, and responsiveness from the City government to better serve the people of Los Angeles.

The idle funds are allocated for various purposes, including community safety, economic development, sanitation and environment, housing and homelessness, parks programs, social services, transportation, public works, and street-related expenditures.

Mayor Karen Bass, who has prioritized combating homelessness and increasing housing stock, has not yet responded to Mejia's recommendation to spend $10 million on housing and homelessness programs.

In addition to spending the funds, Mejia encourages the mayor and City Council to consider past recommendations to reduce the number of idle city funds.

The report suggests implementing measures such as adding sunset clauses to new special fund ordinances and transferring money from expired or obsolete funds into the general fund.

The City Council's budget committee chair has not yet reviewed the report, but it is expected that the recommendations will be discussed when the council is back in session.

City Controller Mejia reviewed a total of 661 special funds, and out of those, 64 funds worth $51.26 million were identified for potential use, while some funds have specific spending restrictions.