Audit Finds Wasteful Spending at SF Affordable Housing Nonprofit

An audit has found a slew of financial problems, including misuse of taxpayer dollars and compliance issues, at a city-funded nonprofit that is one of San Francisco’s main developers of affordable housing. The audit by the City Controller’s Office found that HomeRise—which helps construct new buildings, rehabilitate existing ones, and lease properties for homeless people and their families—improperly spent grant funds on fundraising, staff bonuses, and lunches and gifts to staff, among other things. Other issues the controller found included an improper $2 million transfer without needed approvals and $2.5 million borrowed from a property’s operating account to cover payroll. As of last August, $2.1 million of that had not been reimbursed....