California's homeless population has increased by 50,000 people since Gavin Newsom became governor -- during a period when the state spent $24 billion to address the issue.
Now, nobody is quite sure how, or how effectively, many of those billions in public funds have been used
Those are the top line conclusions of a new audit released in Sacramento this week, which detailed a wholesale lack of accountability for massive state spending on Newsom's signature program:
As the homelessness crisis has intensified, California under Gov. Gavin Newsom’s leadership allocated an unprecedented $24 billion to address homelessness and housing during the last five fiscal years, according to the Legislative Analyst’s Office
Nine state agencies administered more than 30 programs aimed at preventing or reducing homelessness. Some of those programs did such a poor job tracking their outcomes that it’s impossible to tell if they’ve been successful, according to the audit, which marks the first such large-scale accounting of the state’s homelessness spending.
The stunning audit forms the backdrop of the discussion on this week's episode of Newsmakers TV, as Nick Welsh and Josh Molina join the genial host for a high-spirited conversation about the bizarre calculus of homeless program financing, in which steady growth in the number of people living on the street or in their cars, while government outlays directed at the problem skyrocket, somehow equates to success. Or something.
The three amigos also drill down in detail on the politics and policies behind the conflicts swirling over a controversial housing development planned for Upper State Street, and a blockbuster project in Goleta, as county and city elected officials scramble to respond to state housing mandates that seriously have eroded local control over planning and zoning powers.
Plus: City Council banned cars downtown and now is shocked -- shocked! - to find parking revenues drying up; a new Grand Jury report dings the Sheriff for shoddy administration of health services at the County Jail; and we join in celebrating the 25th anniversary re-commitment ceremony of one of Newsmakers' favorite couples.
All this and more, right here, right now on Newsmakers TV.
JR
Check out our latest edition on YouTube below, or by clicking through this link. The podcast version is here. TVSB, Channel 17, airs the show at 8 p.m. M-F, and at 9 a.m. on weekends. KCSB, 91.9 FM, broadcasts the program at 5:30 p.m. on Monday.
Image: From "Homelessness in California" audit, Auditor of the State of California.