LA homelessness showdown implodes after just two minutes as power grab hits a wall

A meeting to consider giving Los Angeles County control over key administrative functions for regional homelessness programs ended abruptly Friday without a vote, prompting Mayor Karen Bass and four City Council members to demand shared city-county oversight.

The Los Angeles Continuum of Care general membership meeting lasted about two minutes before being called off because organizers were unprepared to accommodate the large crowd, according to a joint statement from Bass and the council members.

“Today’s meeting broke down just two minutes after it began because the Board did not plan adequately for a large audience,” the officials said. “Angelenos want a voice in the future of homelessness services, and they were silenced today.”

The meeting was expected to address a proposal to transfer key administrative responsibilities from the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority to LA County, which is seeking to consolidate homelessness programs under its new Department of Homeless Services and Housing.

Bass, City Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson and Councilmembers Ysabel Jurado, Tim McOsker and Imelda Padilla argued that Los Angeles must retain a say in how homelessness programs are administered, particularly when it comes to placing people in housing the city helps fund.

Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters

The officials said Los Angeles spends hundreds of millions of dollars on housing but lacks sufficient authority to determine who moves into those units.

“The City must be able to help the people on our own streets by placing them into the housing that we build and fund in order to solve the homelessness crisis,” they said.

The dispute comes amid a broader push to restructure the region’s homelessness response following years of scrutiny of LAHSA, the joint city-county agency established in 1993.

The Continuum of Care coordinates regional homelessness programs and federal funding, including homelessness data, housing placements and applications for federal grants. County officials want to take over those administrative functions as part of their broader restructuring effort.

City leaders have argued that Los Angeles’ substantial financial contributions to homelessness programs should translate into a meaningful role in decisions about how those services operate.

“The current proposal for County-only administration, recommended by the LA CoC Board, leaves no room for those voices to be heard,” the officials said. “Without collaboration and transparency, management of this complex issue will continue to falter, and worse, our unhoused neighbors will continue to suffer.”

The Continuum of Care is expected to schedule another meeting. No new date had been announced Friday, and the officials urged residents, business owners, advocates and service providers to attend.