LOS ANGELES : Audit Questions Fairness of CRA’s Loan Decisions
There were “deficiencies and inconsistencies” in the Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency’s selection of a nonprofit group to receive a housing construction loan two years ago, raising broader concerns about the fairness of the agency’s decisions, the city controller’s office said Thursday.
An audit released by the controller found that the city agency awarded a $2.5-million loan to Concerned Citizens of South-Central Los Angeles after failing to properly apply criteria that showed another group was equally qualified. “We believe this audit raises a broader concern,” said Deputy Controller Tim Lynch, “especially given the widespread perception that the process by which projects are selected (by the CRA) is not completely on an even playing field.”
A Community Redevelopment Agency official said that the problems revealed in the audit were isolated incidents caused by the implementation of a new system for ranking proposals from nonprofit groups.
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