Alameda County adopts $1 billion plan to address homelessness after years of delay
The board's unanimous vote comes after a prolonged legal battle that, until recently, had prevented the county from spending any of the new tax revenue to address one of the region's most pressing issues.
Alameda County's homeless population grew 18% from 2019 to 2024, when it reached an estimated 9,450 people, according to the latest homelessness census. Over that same five years, the number of people living unsheltered across the county, including in tents, vehicles and other makeshift shelters, nearly doubled from 1,710 to 3,107. Oakland is home to more than half of the county's homeless population.
Supervisor Elisa Márquez said Wednesday that she was eager to support the county's spending plan for Measure W, but urged residents to demand more accountability from their local leaders as well.
'I need everyone here who has all that passion about Measure W funding to go back to your cities and ask them what they're doing,' Márquez said. 'Every city has to be part of the solution, and until that happens, we're going to continue to have this conversation.'
Voters in November 2020 passed a 10-year, half-cent sales tax, known as Measure W, to fund housing and programs related to homelessness, behavioral health care, job training and other essential county services. Collection of the new tax began in July 2021, but the county was unable to spend any funds for several years due to a lawsuit filed by the Alameda County Taxpayers Association challenging the validity of the measure. In April, a judge sided with the county and finally enabled the county to begin releasing funds.
The measure is projected to raise a total of more than $1.8 billion. The county has collected $810 million to date and anticipates an additional $1 billion in revenue through June 2031, when the sales tax expires.
Of the funds raised to date, the Alameda County Board of Supervisors previously approved $350 million for capital acquisition, $30 million for 250 new interim housing units, $10 million for housing subsidies, $4.5 million for new staffing and $6.5 million food security and senior services.
Under the plan approved Wednesday, they will also set aside $170 million of the existing funds raised for a reserve to protect against economic uncertainty and provide financial stability to any programs that might face federal or state funding cuts.
Of the remaining $238.5 million previously accrued and funds raised by the tax moving forward, 80% will go toward the county's 'Home Together Fund.' That fund, which is expected to collect $136 million annually, will focus on preventing homelessness and increasing access to homeless shelters and housing. The new funds will mark a notable increase in the county's ability to address its homeless crisis as it currently spends about $219 million annually on services for its unhoused residents.
The rest of the money will go into an 'essential county services fund,' which will help to maintain critical county infrastructure and programs related to food security, senior support and services for immigrants, the LGBTQ+ community and other marginalized groups affected by federal policy changes and funding cuts. The county anticipates that the fund will receive about $34 million annually.
For the second time in two weeks, dozens of residents and stakeholders came to a special board meeting to offer their feedback about the county's allocation plan. While many expressed their enthusiasm for the unprecedented influx of new funding, they also voiced concerns about several aspects of the proposal.
Several questioned the need for a $170 million reserve while others advocated that 90% or more of the overall funds be dedicated for homeless services. A handful of speakers also opposed a $15 million emergency stabilization fund that officials planned to set up to help nonprofit affordable housing providers that were struggling financially due to eviction moratoriums put in place during the pandemic.
'Measure W should be used for what it was voted for — housing and homelessness services, mental health and support services,' said Carmen Jovel of the East Bay Community Law Center. Jovel added that it was 'alarming' that the county planned to use any funds from the measure to help landlords rather than those suffering from homelessness.
Vivian Wan, executive director of the affordable housing nonprofit Abode Services, argued that the stabilization fund would assist the agency to serve more unhoused people.
"We want to build more supportive housing. We want to help end the homelessness in this community, and we can't do so if we're not (financially) healthy,' she said.
The Board of Supervisors did not make a decision on whether or how to move forward with the proposed $15 million emergency stabilization fund and instead punted it to a future meeting.
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