Justin Szlasa was removed last week as chair of the audit committee at the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, or LAHSA, without any public explanation for the change. He remains a member of the three-person panel but no longer controls its agenda or directs staff work between meetings.

Szlasa, appointed to the LAHSA commission by Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, had used the chair role to seek greater independence for internal auditors and to complete a long-delayed review of unspent federal grants. According to LAist, he had also organized a summit on performance-based contracting for homeless services.

During his tenure, Szlasa personally inspected an approved camping site and found that LAHSA had paid a nonprofit for twice the number of spaces that actually existed for more than a year. He repeatedly requested a full commission discussion of the payments, but prior chairs declined to schedule the item.

Rick Cole, a former deputy in the city controller’s office, called Szlasa’s removal a setback for accountability and described it as part of an ongoing effort to conceal problems at the agency. Cole said Szlasa had worked to install basic financial controls that the billion-dollar organization lacked.

Stephanie Graves, the new LAHSA commission chair and an appointee of Mayor Karen Bass, recommended the change in committee assignments. Graves told LAist that selecting chairs was her prerogative and noted that Szlasa would continue to serve on the committee, though she offered no further rationale.

A spokesperson for the mayor’s office said such appointments are decided by the commission chair and confirmed by the full body. Neither Graves nor the mayor’s office has clarified whether Bass was involved in the decision to remove Szlasa.

Szlasa, who was denied his request to remain chair, said the loss of the position limits his ability to advance transparency measures that he believes LAHSA needs to restore public confidence and protect its funding.

This report is based on coverage by LAist: https://laist.com/news/housing-homelessness/he-uncovered-wasteful-la-homelessness-spending-he-was-just-demoted-without-explanation