The Sacramento Bee on Feb. 24 published an article that erroneously inflated the City’s homelessness expenditures by nearly $50 million.
The article centered on a preliminary report released by the Office of the City Auditor that states the City spent $57 million to address the homelessness crisis in fiscal year 2022/23.
The Bee mistakenly listed that number as $105 million and included the incorrect figure in the headline of its article.
The City contacted The Bee early on Feb. 24 and informed them of the error. It took The Bee two days to issue a correction and fix the headline. Meanwhile, the incorrect information continued to be featured prominently on its website.
The spending figure is just the latest in a series of sizable errors from The Bee.
After being contacted by the City, The Bee made multiple corrections to its Feb. 14 article on Measure C. The Bee also made a significant correction to its Feb. 10 opinion piece on the District 4 Council race.
Read the City Auditor’s preliminary report on the City’s homeless response here. The annual spending amount for FY22/23 can be found in the fact sheet on page 5.
The City Auditor’s preliminary report will be discussed at Feb. 27’s Budget and Audit meeting.
Here is a screenshot of The Bee’s correction:
