L.A. loses millions in federal grant money LOS ANGELES, Jan. 24 (UPI) -- A lack of oversight caused the city of Los Angeles to lose out on more than $125 million in federal stimulus money, the city's controller said. Wendy Greuel said an audit of the city's applications processes determined that there should have been a centralized body to oversee department applications for the stimulus money, the Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday. The city applied for 88 competitive grants worth about $1.3 billion under the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Greuel said. Of those applications, Los Angeles was awarded 24 grants totaling $261 million, the audit found. Greuel said the quality of grant applications varied among departments -- some departments were short-staffed and others pursued only the grants they felt they had the best chance of winning. What was needed, she said, was an oversight body to supervise the process. She said she has discussed creation of such a body with City Administrative Officer Miguel Santana, the Times reported.