Controller Expands HACLA Investigation To Include Nonprofits
City Controller Wendy Greuel today expanded her investigation into controversial spending at the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles to encompass certain nonprofit organizations that it contracts with directly.
In a letter to HACLA's interim president and CEO, Doug Guthrie, Greuel noted that the authority's "enterprise activities" pull in more than $15 million a year in profit. Those activities include rental income from 2,500 properties owned and managed by separate nonprofits and also thousands of others managed by the LOMOD Corporation, which is responsible for administering the authority's federal Housing and Urban Development contracts.
Greuel asked for a full accounting of the "nature and structure" of the nonprofits, including their financial information and how money flows into HACLA and is counted as "profit."
"I look forward to working with you and the Commission Chair throughout this process, acknowledging that we share the important goal to improve public accountability and transparency in HACLA's fiscal affairs," Greuel wrote.
At the same time, Greuel sent another letter to HACLA's board chair, Mitchell Kamin, calling for special care in selecting a new director for the authority, which has been at the center of much public scrutiny following investigations from the Los Angeles Times and SoCal Connected.
"The new Executive Director must have extensive public housing experience and, equally important, be an excellent administrator," Greuel wrote. "While his/her compensation package must be commensurate with that experience, it must also be reasonable."
Read the full text of Greuel's letters to Guthrie and Kamin below:
