profile
Karen Bass
Mayor
Inside Safe, LAHSA, budget collapse, vanished accountability.
stories
In the file
cards42
- 1January 18, 2023Day one: Bass asks for $50MBass asked City Council for the first $50M emergency fund for Inside Safe while the city still had roughly $700M in its General Fund.
- 2Jan. 18, 2023Raman votes yes on Bass's $50MRaman joined the unanimous Council vote that handed Bass the first $50M for Inside Safe.
- 3May 10, 2023Bass never provided spending reports for homelessness.Bass had not provided the biweekly Inside Safe spending reports Council ordered; Hernandez told LAist Council had not seen them.
- 4May 12, 2023Bass asks for $250M moreBass sent the city budget to Council with $250M more for homelessness.
- 5May 18, 2023Raman approves $250M moreCity Council approved Bass's budget with $250M for Inside Safe; Raman voted yes.
- 6June 1, 2023Bass appoints longtime ally to lead homelessness.Bass's longtime ally Adams Kellum became LAHSA CEO after Bass directed LAHSA to pay her $10K per week as an Inside Safe consultant.
- 7Jul. 13, 202394% of unhoused participants had failed to find permanent housingCalMatters found that fewer than 6% of Inside Safe hotel placements had reached permanent housing.
- 8Jun. 26, 2023Bass taps Staycee Dains to run animal shelters.Bass installed Staycee Dains as Animal Services general manager before complaints began inside the department.
- 9Aug. 1, 2023Dains hurled racial epithets at Black employees.Employees reported Staycee Dains hurled racial epithets at Black staff at the South LA Animal Shelter, seized a dog from a Black owner without justification, and threatened employees.
- 10Aug. 2, 2023Homelessness spikes by ~10%.Adams Kellum marked her first 100 days while homelessness had risen 10% in the city and 9% countywide.
- 11Oct. 15, 2023Kellum caught deleting emails to protect Bass.Whistleblower demand letters alleged Adams Kellum asked LAHSA IT to delete official emails to protect Mayor Bass and retaliated against staff who would not hide Inside Safe client counts.
- 12Nov. 1, 2023Bass opens more expensive hotel rooms across the city.Bass issued ED6 to open more residential hotel rooms for temporary Inside Safe housing.
- 13Nov. 30, 20232023: Bass spent $35k per homeless person.NBC4 reported Inside Safe had spent $67M while permanently housing only 255 people.
- 14Dec. 7, 2023Bass alleges nearly half of the homeless population has been sheltered.Bass claimed more than 21,000 people had been brought indoors, while ABC7 showed the city still did not know what happened after interim housing.
- 15Mar. 8, 2024Federal Judge mandates a first investigation.Controller Kenneth Mejia announced an Inside Safe audit after Judge Carter questioned accountability, while city officials argued mayoral programs were outside his reach.
- 16Apr. 3, 2024Adams Kellum caught sending $2M+ to her husband's employerAdams Kellum signed a $2.1M LAHSA contract with Upward Bound House, where her husband worked.
- 17May 14, 2024Bass & Raman approve $750k for new Water & Power CEOBass and Raman approved a $750K LADWP CEO — more than double her predecessor — before the Palisades water failures.
- 18Jun. 6, 2024Whistleblowers put it in writingFormer LAHSA executives alleged retaliation, friend-hiring, hidden Inside Safe data, attempted email deletion, and misconduct.
- 19Jun. 28, 2024Bass cut LAFD before the January 7 fire.Bass signed a budget reducing LAFD appropriations by $17.6M roughly six months before the Palisades fire.
- 20Jul. 3, 202485% of Inside Safe participants never got a housing voucher.LA Public Press reported Inside Safe residents said they lacked vouchers, mental-health support, and humane shelter conditions.
- 21Jul. 30, 2024Participant: 'Inside Safe made me so sick I thought I had to go to the hospital.'A fraud, waste, and abuse complaint alleged Inside Safe motel food was making residents sick.
- 22Aug. 14, 2024Human Rights Watch: Homeless people account for 42% of LA arrests.Human Rights Watch found unhoused people were 42% of misdemeanor arrests, more than 75,000 were homeless in LA, and more than six unhoused people died per day.
- 23Oct. 3, 2024Bass deputy fakes a bomb threatBass's Deputy Mayor for Public Safety staged a fake City Hall bomb threat while overseeing the city's public-safety apparatus.
- 24Feb. 12, 2025Bass asks $46M more for homelessness.Raman's Housing and Homelessness Committee advanced another $46.1M Inside Safe transfer request.
- 25Mar. 6, 2025Audit finds major flawsJudge Carter's court-ordered audit found weak homelessness data systems, financial controls, contracts, and spending reconciliation.
- 26Mar. 11, 2025LA Water CEO increases compensation after Jan 7 firesABC7 reported LADWP chief Janisse Quinones received a private security detail after the Palisades fire.
- 27Apr. 1, 2025LAHSA loses $300M of homelessness funding.Los Angeles County voted to pull more than $300M away from LAHSA despite Bass's opposition.
- 28Apr. 2, 2025Raman approves another $30M for Bass.Raman approved another $29.1M for Inside Safe after Bass asked for $46.1M.
- 29Apr. 4, 2025Adams Kellum resignsAdams Kellum announced her resignation days after the county moved to pull major funding away from LAHSA.
- 30Apr. 8, 2025DOJ expands investigation to Major Frauds and Public CorruptionFederal prosecutors announced a task force to investigate fraud, waste, abuse, and corruption in homelessness funds.
- 31Apr. 21, 2025Bass proposes 1,600 layoffsBass proposed more than 1,600 city layoffs to close a nearly $1B budget gap.
- 32Apr. 21, 2025Bass cuts management for encampment cleanups.Bass's budget cut management for encampment cleanups, shrinking CARE+ teams from 26 to 15.
- 33May 6, 2025Bass pays off whistleblowers with taxpayer dollarsLAist reported whistleblower claims and $800K payouts while Bass's ally allegedly shielded bad Inside Safe data.
- 34May 22, 2025Bass asks for $185M in homelessness funding. Raman approves.Raman approved Bass's FY25-26 budget with a $185M Inside Safe base after prior YES votes totaling about $329M.
- 35May. 22, 2025Bass's Deputy Mayor charged with calling in a bomb threat on LA City HallBass's Deputy Mayor for Public Safety agreed to plead guilty to a felony for the fake City Hall bomb threat.
- 36Jun. 30, 2025Homelessness audit fails again.LAHSA's fiscal-year audit found a significant deficiency, inaccurate initial statements, late corrections, and related-party disclosures.
- 37Oct. 6, 2025Bass' Deputy Mayor pleads guilty in FBI caseWilliams received probation, community service, and a fine after admitting the fake bomb threat.
- 38Jul. 1, 2026LA Water & Power rates increase following Jan 7 firesLADWP electric and water rate increases took effect July 1, 2026 after the Palisades fire.
- 39Mar. 4, 2026$750K Water & Power CEO disappears; moves to Puerto Rico.Quinones resigned and moved to Puerto Rico the day Palisades litigation advanced toward discovery.
- 40Apr. 5, 2026LA Times: After Bass spends $300M, 40% of homeless are back on the streetThe LA Times found that after more than $300M spent, about 40% of Inside Safe participants were back on the street.
- 41Apr. 17, 2026LA Times: Animal Shelters still falling apart, tooLA Animal Services was still facing outbreaks, sick dogs, rising euthanasia, and bite-liability claims under Bass.
- 42Apr. 20, 2026Bass asks for $104M more to fight homelessnessBass's next budget still asked for another $104M for Inside Safe after the program had spent more than $300M.