Hawaii's state auditor says the office running the Kauhale homeless village program failed to protect taxpayer money, a bad mark for the governor's signature homelessness push.

• An audit found more than $13.7 million in payments that were unauthorized, unsupported, or simply questionable.
• The state homelessness office leaned too hard on a nonprofit, HomeAid Hawaii, that was new to this kind of work.
• Auditors could not even figure out who decided to pick HomeAid or who approved key spending.
• Work started before contracts were signed, and bills got paid without proper checks — including a first-class flight and Las Vegas hotel stay for HomeAid's CEO that the contract banned.
• The state accepted all 11 recommendations but disputes some findings; the governor points to more than 2,900 people served, and HomeAid calls the audit an incomplete picture.

Outlook: Expect tighter contracting rules and more scrutiny of the program's spending, with the villages themselves continuing to operate.