Alot of those monies goes to very large salaries paid to city employees and the extra overinflated costs they drum up. Then they do not want to spend the monies on arresting any of the drug dealers, addicts, or sadistic animal abusers perpetuating felonies. That can cost sometimes more than $105,000 k per arrested felon a year, or even more if in need of constant medical care. They don't want to spend the monies on this. Other states bussed many out to California as well to rid of the issue without spending much. There is not enough police to contend not only with over 100,000 L.A. gangs, but also the drug dealers who are part of or distributing for cartels. There are just so many police to go around to contend with the daily crimes everywhere in L.A.
They have no room barely in the shelters for the doggies who will euthanize them either way to keep costs low so city employees get their salaries. Some of the salaries are over $500k a year, which is part of the issue of "costs". Then there are the NGOs (some) who do not spend the money but keep it in an account, pay salaries themselves, have to pay for supplies and more, but some are probably not at all honest either.
The other issue is too many people have gravitated to California so overcongestion is part of the issue. It's a lose/lose situation in California currently. There is no easy solution. The more California makes and gets in monies as a State, the more they put employees on high salaries, which is more important to most city employees than drug dealers, sadistic animal felony cruelty against innocent doggies and kitties, homeless addicts dying out on the streets or killing, rape, pedophilia, and gang/cartel issues.
Buying mansions away from all the horrors is the main goal and personal safety, well being, and enjoyment. Cali is also highly overregulated, which keeps nonprofits who are integrous and businesses from succeeding, which empowers those gov positions, its dogmas, and ability to keep raking in their monies for themselves. They will spend more on overregulation and charging the outrageous costs of overregulation without flinching, without conscience, without integrity, while destroying Los Angeles and the rest of California generally, which they are and have been doing. Every year it gets worse--not better and I am a witness. I do not see the resolution in sight though to make it all better!
In twenty years I have never seen it so horrible and bad as these past five or so years in Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Venice, Hollywood, Antelope Valley, San Fernando Valley, and everywhere in between. More and more drugs getting in easily, even down the block from police stations; more and more addicts living on the streets; more and more people immigrating to California; more and more business losses, fires, and ruin; more and more gangs, guns, and fighting... It's turned into hell just about.