Latest news with #McOsker
Miami Herald
5 days ago
- Politics
- Miami Herald
LA's mayor declared a homelessness emergency. Now, some at City Hall want to move past it
LOS ANGELES – It was the first and possibly the most dramatic act by Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass after she took office: declaring a city emergency on homelessness. That move, backed by the City Council, gave Bass the power to award no-bid contracts to nonprofit groups and to rent hotels and motels for interim homeless housing. It also allowed Bass to waive regulations limiting the size and scale of certain types of affordable housing. Now, two and a half years into Bass' tenure, some on the council are looking to reassert their authority, by rescinding the homelessness emergency declaration. Councilmember Tim McOsker said he wants to return city government to its normal processes and procedures, as spelled out in the City Charter. Leases, contracts and other decisions related to homelessness would again be taken up at public meetings, with council members receiving testimony, taking written input and ultimately voting. "Let's come back to why these processes exist," McOsker said in an interview. "They exist so the public can be made aware of what we're doing with public dollars." McOsker said that, even if the declaration is rescinded, the city will need to address "the remainder of this crisis." For example, he said, the homeless services that the city currently provides could become permanent. The city could also push county agencies - which provide public health, mental health counseling and substance abuse treatment - to do more, McOsker said. Bass, for her part, pushed back on McOsker's efforts this week, saying through an aide that the emergency declaration "has resulted in homelessness decreasing for the first time in years, bucking statewide and nationwide trends." "The Mayor encourages Council to resist the urge of returning to failed policies that saw homelessness explode in Los Angeles," said Bass spokesperson Clara Karger. The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, also known as LAHSA, reported last summer that homelessness declined by 2.2% in the city of L.A., the first decrease in several years. The number of unsheltered homeless people - those who live in interim housing, such as hotels and motels, but do not have a permanent residence - dropped by more than 10% to 29,275, down from 32,680. The push from McOsker and at least some of his colleagues comes at a pivotal time. Last month, the L.A. County Board of Supervisors voted to pull more than $300 million from LAHSA, the city-county agency that provides an array of services to the unhoused population. Meanwhile, the L.A. Alliance for Human Rights, which has been battling the city in court over its response to the crisis, is pushing for a federal judge to place the city's homelessness initiatives into a receivership. Matthew Umhofer, an attorney for the alliance, said the city has "very little to show" for its emergency declaration in terms of progress on the streets. "It's our view that a state of emergency around homelessness is appropriate, but that the city is not engaged in conduct that reflects the seriousness of the crisis - and is not doing what it needs to do in order to solve the crisis," he said. Inside Safe, Bass' signature program to bring homeless people indoors, has moved 4,316 people into interim housing since it began in 2022, according to a LAHSA dashboard covering the period ending April 30. Of that total, nearly 1,040 went into permanent housing, while nearly 1,600 returned to homelessness. Council members voted this week to extend the mayor's homelessness emergency declaration for another 90 days, with McOsker casting the lone dissenting vote. However, they have also begun taking preliminary steps toward ending the declaration. Last week, while approving the city budget, the council created a new bureau within the Los Angeles Housing Department to monitor spending on homeless services. On Tuesday, the council asked city policy analysts to provide strategies to ensure that nonprofit homeless service providers are paid on a timely basis, "even if there is no longer a declared emergency." The following day, McOsker and Councilmember Nithya Raman - who heads the council's housing and homeless committee - co-authored a proposal asking city policy analysts to report back in 60 days with a plan addressing the "operational, legal and fiscal impacts" of terminating the emergency declaration. That proposal, also signed by Councilmembers John Lee and Ysabel Jurado, now heads to Raman's committee for deliberations. While some on the council have already voiced support for repealing the emergency declaration, others say they are open to the idea - but only if there is a seamless transition. "I want to make sure that if we do wind it down, that we do it responsibly," said Councilmember Bob Blumenfield, who represents the southwest San Fernando Valley. Blumenfield wants to protect Executive Directive 1, which was issued by Bass shortly after she declared the local emergency, by enshrining its provisions into city law. The directive lifts height limits and other planning restrictions for 100% affordable housing developments, which charge rents below market rates. Raman said the city must confront a number of issues stemming from the homelessness crisis, such as improving data collection. But she, too, voiced interest in exploring the end of the emergency declaration. "This is also an extremely important conversation, and it is one I am eager to have," she said. Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
L.A.'s mayor declared a homelessness emergency. Now, some at City Hall want to move past it
It was the first and possibly the most dramatic act by Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass after she took office: declaring a city emergency on homelessness. That move, backed by the City Council, gave Bass the power to award no-bid contracts to nonprofit groups and to rent hotels and motels for interim homeless housing. It also allowed Bass to waive regulations limiting the size and scale of certain types of affordable housing. Now, two and a half years into Bass' tenure, some on the council are looking to reassert their authority, by rescinding the homelessness emergency declaration. Councilmember Tim McOsker said he wants to return city government to its normal processes and procedures, as spelled out in the City Charter. Leases, contracts and other decisions related to homelessness would again be taken up at public meetings, with council members receiving testimony, taking written input and ultimately voting. "Let's come back to why these processes exist," McOsker said in an interview. "They exist so the public can be made aware of what we're doing with public dollars." McOsker said that, even if the declaration is rescinded, the city will need to address "the remainder of this crisis." For example, he said, the homeless services that the city currently provides could become permanent. The city could also push county agencies — which provide public health, mental health counseling and substance abuse treatment — to do more, McOsker said. Read more: An emergency declaration gives Karen Bass new powers. How will she use them? Bass, for her part, pushed back on McOsker's efforts this week, saying through an aide that the emergency declaration "has resulted in homelessness decreasing for the first time in years, bucking statewide and nationwide trends." "The Mayor encourages Council to resist the urge of returning to failed policies that saw homelessness explode in Los Angeles," said Bass spokesperson Clara Karger. The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, also known as LAHSA, reported last summer that homelessness declined by 2.2% in the city of L.A., the first decrease in several years. The number of unsheltered homeless people — those who live in interim housing, such as hotels and motels, but do not have a permanent residence — dropped by more than 10% to 29,275, down from 32,680. The push from McOsker and at least some of his colleagues comes at a pivotal time. Last month, the L.A. County Board of Supervisors voted to pull more than $300 million from LAHSA, the city-county agency that provides an array of services to the unhoused population. Meanwhile, the L.A. Alliance for Human Rights, which has been battling the city in court over its response to the crisis, is pushing for a federal judge to place the city's homelessness initiatives into a receivership. Matthew Umhofer, an attorney for the alliance, said the city has "very little to show" for its emergency declaration in terms of progress on the streets. "It's our view that a state of emergency around homelessness is appropriate, but that the city is not engaged in conduct that reflects the seriousness of the crisis — and is not doing what it needs to do in order to solve the crisis," he said. Inside Safe, Bass' signature program to bring homeless people indoors, has moved 4,316 people into interim housing since it began in 2022, according to a LAHSA dashboard covering the period ending April 30. Of that total, nearly 1,040 went into permanent housing, while nearly 1,600 returned to homelessness. Read more: County supervisors create new homeless agency, despite warnings from L.A. mayor Council members voted this week to extend the mayor's homelessness emergency declaration for another 90 days, with McOsker casting the lone dissenting vote. However, they have also begun taking preliminary steps toward ending the declaration. Last week, while approving the city budget, the council created a new bureau within the Los Angeles Housing Department to monitor spending on homeless services. On Tuesday, the council asked city policy analysts to provide strategies to ensure that nonprofit homeless service providers are paid on a timely basis, "even if there is no longer a declared emergency." The following day, McOsker and Councilmember Nithya Raman — who heads the council's housing and homeless committee — co-authored a proposal asking city policy analysts to report back in 60 days with a plan addressing the "operational, legal and fiscal impacts" of terminating the emergency declaration. That proposal, also signed by Councilmembers John Lee and Ysabel Jurado, now heads to Raman's committee for deliberations. While some on the council have already voiced support for repealing the emergency declaration, others say they are open to the idea — but only if there is a seamless transition. "I want to make sure that if we do wind it down, that we do it responsibly," said Councilmember Bob Blumenfield, who represents the southwest San Fernando Valley. Blumenfield wants to protect Executive Directive 1, which was issued by Bass shortly after she declared the local emergency, by enshrining its provisions into city law. The directive lifts height limits and other planning restrictions for 100% affordable housing developments, which charge rents below market rates. Raman said the city must confront a number of issues stemming from the homelessness crisis, such as improving data collection. But she, too, voiced interest in exploring the end of the emergency declaration. "This is also an extremely important conversation, and it is one I am eager to have," she said. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
6 days ago
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
L.A.'s mayor declared a homelessness emergency. Now, some at City Hall want to move past it
It was the first and possibly the most dramatic act by Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass after she took office: declaring a city emergency on homelessness. That move, backed by the City Council, gave Bass the power to award no-bid contracts to nonprofit groups and to rent hotels and motels for interim homeless housing. It also allowed Bass to waive regulations limiting the size and scale of certain types of affordable housing. Now, two and a half years into Bass' tenure, some on the council are looking to reassert their authority, by rescinding the homelessness emergency declaration. Councilmember Tim McOsker said he wants to return city government to its normal processes and procedures, as spelled out in the City Charter. Leases, contracts and other decisions related to homelessness would again be taken up at public meetings, with council members receiving testimony, taking written input and ultimately voting. 'Let's come back to why these processes exist,' McOsker said in an interview. 'They exist so the public can be made aware of what we're doing with public dollars.' McOsker said that, even if the declaration is rescinded, the city will need to address 'the remainder of this crisis.' For example, he said, the homeless services that the city currently provides could become permanent. The city could also push county agencies — which provide public health, mental health counseling and substance abuse treatment — to do more, McOsker said. Bass, for her part, pushed back on McOsker's efforts this week, saying through an aide that the emergency declaration 'has resulted in homelessness decreasing for the first time in years, bucking statewide and nationwide trends.' 'The Mayor encourages Council to resist the urge of returning to failed policies that saw homelessness explode in Los Angeles,' said Bass spokesperson Clara Karger. The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, also known as LAHSA, reported last summer that homelessness declined by 2.2% in the city of L.A., the first decrease in several years. The number of unsheltered homeless people — those who live in interim housing, such as hotels and motels, but do not have a permanent residence — dropped by more than 10% to 29,275, down from 32,680. The push from McOsker and at least some of his colleagues comes at a pivotal time. Last month, the L.A. County Board of Supervisors voted to pull more than $300 million from LAHSA, the city-county agency that provides an array of services to the unhoused population. Meanwhile, the L.A. Alliance for Human Rights, which has been battling the city in court over its response to the crisis, is pushing for a federal judge to place the city's homelessness initiatives into a receivership. Matthew Umhofer, an attorney for the alliance, said the city has 'very little to show' for its emergency declaration in terms of progress on the streets. 'It's our view that a state of emergency around homelessness is appropriate, but that the city is not engaged in conduct that reflects the seriousness of the crisis — and is not doing what it needs to do in order to solve the crisis,' he said. Inside Safe, Bass' signature program to bring homeless people indoors, has moved 4,316 people into interim housing since it began in 2022, according to a LAHSA dashboard covering the period ending April 30. Of that total, nearly 1,040 went into permanent housing, while nearly 1,600 returned to homelessness. Council members voted this week to extend the mayor's homelessness emergency declaration for another 90 days, with McOsker casting the lone dissenting vote. However, they have also begun taking preliminary steps toward ending the declaration. Last week, while approving the city budget, the council created a new bureau within the Los Angeles Housing Department to monitor spending on homeless services. On Tuesday, the council asked city policy analysts to provide strategies to ensure that nonprofit homeless service providers are paid on a timely basis, 'even if there is no longer a declared emergency.' The following day, McOsker and Councilmember Nithya Raman — who heads the council's housing and homeless committee — co-authored a proposal asking city policy analysts to report back in 60 days with a plan addressing the 'operational, legal and fiscal impacts' of terminating the emergency declaration. That proposal, also signed by Councilmembers John Lee and Ysabel Jurado, now heads to Raman's committee for deliberations. While some on the council have already voiced support for repealing the emergency declaration, others say they are open to the idea — but only if there is a seamless transition. 'I want to make sure that if we do wind it down, that we do it responsibly,' said Councilmember Bob Blumenfield, who represents the southwest San Fernando Valley. Blumenfield wants to protect Executive Directive 1, which was issued by Bass shortly after she declared the local emergency, by enshrining its provisions into city law. The directive lifts height limits and other planning restrictions for 100% affordable housing developments, which charge rents below market rates. Raman said the city must confront a number of issues stemming from the homelessness crisis, such as improving data collection. But she, too, voiced interest in exploring the end of the emergency declaration. 'This is also an extremely important conversation, and it is one I am eager to have,' she said.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
L.A. City Council approves $14-billion budget, scaling back Bass' public safety plans
The Los Angeles City Council signed off on a $14-billion spending plan for 2025-26 on Thursday, scaling back Mayor Karen Bass' public safety initiatives as they attempted to spare 1,000 city workers from layoffs. Faced with a nearly $1-billion budget shortfall, the council voted 12 to 3 for a plan that would cut funding for recruitment at the Los Angeles Police Department, leaving the agency with fewer officers than at any point since 1995. The council provided enough money for the LAPD to hire 240 new officers over the coming year, down from the 480 proposed by Bass last month. That reduction would leave the LAPD with about 8,400 officers in June 2026, down from about 8,700 this year and 10,000 in 2020. The council also scaled back the number of new hires the mayor proposed for the Los Angeles Fire Department in the wake of the wildfire that ravaged huge stretches of Pacific Palisades. Bass' budget called for the hiring of 227 additional fire department employees. The council provided funding for the department to expand by an estimated 58 employees. Three council members — John Lee, Traci Park and Monica Rodriguez — voted against the budget, in large part due to cost-cutting efforts at the two public safety agencies. Park, whose district includes Pacific Palisades, voiced alarm over those and other reductions. "I just can't in good conscience vote for a budget that makes our city less safe, less physically sound and even less responsive to our constituents," she said. Rodriguez offered a similar message, saying the council should have shifted more money out of Inside Safe, Bass' signature program to address homelessness. That program, which received a 10% cut, lacks oversight and has been extraordinarily expensive, said Rodriguez, who represents the northeast San Fernando Valley. "Inside Safe currently spends upwards of $7,000 a month to house a single individual. That's just room and board and services," she said. "That doesn't include all of the other ancillary services that are tapped from our city family in order to make it work, including LAPD overtime, including sanitation services, including the Department of Transportation." Councilmember Tim McOsker, who sits on the budget committee, said the fire department would still see an overall increase in funding under the council's budget. Putting more money into the police and fire departments would mean laying off workers who fix streets, curbs and sidewalks, said McOsker, who represents neighborhoods stretching from Watts south to L.A.'s harbor. McOsker said it's still possible that the city could increase funding for LAPD recruitment if the city's economic picture improves or other savings are identified in the budget. The council authorized the LAPD to ramp up hiring if more money can be found later in the year. "I would love to put ourselves in a position where we could hire more than 240 officers, and maybe we will. I don't know. But today we can't," McOsker told his colleagues. Councilmember Ysabel Jurado, who joined the council in December, also defended the budget plan, saying it would help create "a more just, equitable and inclusive Los Angeles." "This budget doesn't fix everything. It doesn't close every gap. But it does show a willingness to make some structural changes," she said. Bass aides did not immediately respond to inquiries about the council's actions. A second budget vote by the council is required next week before the plan can head to the mayor's desk for her consideration. Bass' spending plan proposed about 1,600 city employee layoffs over the coming year, with deep reductions in agencies that handle trash pickup, streetlight repair and city planning. The decisions made Thursday would reduce the number to around 700, said City Administrative Officer Matt Szabo, who helps prepare the spending plan. The remaining layoffs could still be avoided if the city's unions offer financial concessions, said Councilmember Katy Yaroslavsky, who heads the council's budget committee. For example, she said, civilian city workers could cut costs by taking four to five unpaid furlough days. "My goal, my fervent goal and hope, is that labor comes to the table and says 'We'll take some furloughs, we'll take some comp time off,'" Yaroslavsky said. The city entered a full-blown financial crisis earlier this year, driven in large part by rapidly rising legal payouts, weaker than expected tax revenues and scheduled raises for city employees. Those pay increases are expected to consume $250 million over the coming fiscal year. To bring the city's budget into balance, council members tapped $29 million in the city's budget stabilization fund, which was set up to help the city weather periods of slower economic growth. They took steps to collect an extra $20 million in business tax revenue. And they backed a plan to hike the cost of parking tickets, which could generate another $14 million. At the same time, the council scaled back an array of cuts proposed in Bass' budget. Over the course of Thursday's six-hour meeting, the council: * Restored positions at the Department of Cultural Affairs, averting the closure of the historic Hollyhock House in East Hollywood, protecting its status as a UNESCO World Heritage site. * Provided the funds to continue operating the Climate Emergency Mobilization Office, which had been threatened with elimination. * Provided $1 million for Represent LA, which pays for legal defense of residents facing deportation, detention or other immigration proceedings. That funding would have been eliminated under Bass' original proposal, Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez said. * Moved $5 million into the animal services department — a move requested by Bass — to ensure that all of the city's animal shelters remain open. * Restored funding for streetlight repairs, street resurfacing and removal of "bulky items," such as mattresses and couches, from sidewalks and alleys. Even with those changes, the city is still facing the potential for hundreds of layoffs, around a third of them at the LAPD. Although the council saved the jobs of an estimated 150 civilian workers in that department — many of them specialists, such as workers who handle DNA rape kits — another 250 are still targeted for layoff. 'We took a horrible budget proposal, and we made it into one that is just very bad,' said Councilmember Bob Blumenfield, who represents part of the west San Fernando Valley. 'It took a lot of work to do that, but it is better and we did save jobs. But the fundamentals are still very bad.' Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
L.A. City Council approves $14-billion budget, scaling back Bass' public safety plans
The Los Angeles City Council signed off on a $14-billion spending plan for 2025-26 on Thursday, scaling back Mayor Karen Bass' public safety initiatives as they attempted to spare 1,000 city workers from layoffs. Faced with a nearly $1-billion budget shortfall, the council voted 12 to 3 for a plan that would cut funding for recruitment at the Los Angeles Police Department, leaving the agency with fewer officers than at any point since 1995. The council provided enough money for the LAPD to hire 240 new officers over the coming year, down from the 480 proposed by Bass last month. That reduction would leave the LAPD with about 8,400 officers in June 2026, down from about 8,700 this year and 10,000 in 2020. The council also scaled back the number of new hires the mayor proposed for the Los Angeles Fire Department in the wake of the wildfire that ravaged huge stretches of Pacific Palisades. Bass' budget called for the hiring of 227 additional fire department employees. The council provided funding for the department to expand by an estimated 58 employees. Three council members — John Lee, Traci Park and Monica Rodriguez — voted against the budget, in large part due to cost-cutting efforts at the two public safety agencies. Park, whose district includes Pacific Palisades, voiced alarm over those and other reductions. 'I just can't in good conscience vote for a budget that makes our city less safe, less physically sound and even less responsive to our constituents,' she said. Rodriguez offered a similar message, saying the council should have shifted more money out of Inside Safe, Bass' signature program to address homelessness. That program, which received a 10% cut, lacks oversight and has been extraordinarily expensive, said Rodriguez, who represents the northeast San Fernando Valley. 'Inside Safe currently spends upwards of $7,000 a month to house a single individual. That's just room and board and services,' she said. 'That doesn't include all of the other ancillary services that are tapped from our city family in order to make it work, including LAPD overtime, including sanitation services, including the Department of Transportation.' Councilmember Tim McOsker, who sits on the budget committee, said the fire department would still see an overall increase in funding under the council's budget. Putting more money into the police and fire departments would mean laying off workers who fix streets, curbs and sidewalks, said McOsker, who represents neighborhoods stretching from Watts south to L.A.'s harbor. McOsker said it's still possible that the city could increase funding for LAPD recruitment if the city's economic picture improves or other savings are identified in the budget. The council authorized the LAPD to ramp up hiring if more money can be found later in the year. 'I would love to put ourselves in a position where we could hire more than 240 officers, and maybe we will. I don't know. But today we can't,' McOsker told his colleagues. Councilmember Ysabel Jurado, who joined the council in December, also defended the budget plan, saying it would help create 'a more just, equitable and inclusive Los Angeles.' 'This budget doesn't fix everything. It doesn't close every gap. But it does show a willingness to make some structural changes,' she said. Bass aides did not immediately respond to inquiries about the council's actions. A second budget vote by the council is required next week before the plan can head to the mayor's desk for her consideration. Bass' spending plan proposed about 1,600 city employee layoffs over the coming year, with deep reductions in agencies that handle trash pickup, streetlight repair and city planning. The decisions made Thursday would reduce the number to around 700, said City Administrative Officer Matt Szabo, who helps prepare the spending plan. The remaining layoffs could still be avoided if the city's unions offer financial concessions, said Councilmember Katy Yaroslavsky, who heads the council's budget committee. For example, she said, civilian city workers could cut costs by taking four to five unpaid furlough days. 'My goal, my fervent goal and hope, is that labor comes to the table and says 'We'll take some furloughs, we'll take some comp time off,'' Yaroslavsky said. The city entered a full-blown financial crisis earlier this year, driven in large part by rapidly rising legal payouts, weaker than expected tax revenues and scheduled raises for city employees. Those pay increases are expected to consume $250 million over the coming fiscal year. To bring the city's budget into balance, council members tapped $29 million in the city's budget stabilization fund, which was set up to help the city weather periods of slower economic growth. They took steps to collect an extra $20 million in business tax revenue. And they backed a plan to hike the cost of parking tickets, which could generate another $14 million. At the same time, the council scaled back an array of cuts proposed in Bass' budget. Over the course of Thursday's six-hour meeting, the council: * Restored positions at the Department of Cultural Affairs, averting the closure of the historic Hollyhock House in East Hollywood, protecting its status as a UNESCO World Heritage site. * Provided the funds to continue operating the Climate Emergency Mobilization Office, which had been threatened with elimination. * Provided $1 million for Represent LA, which pays for legal defense of residents facing deportation, detention or other immigration proceedings. That funding would have been eliminated under Bass' original proposal, Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez said. * Moved $5 million into the animal services department — a move requested by Bass — to ensure that all of the city's animal shelters remain open. * Restored funding for streetlight repairs, street resurfacing and removal of 'bulky items,' such as mattresses and couches, from sidewalks and alleys. Even with those changes, the city is still facing the potential for hundreds of layoffs, around a third of them at the LAPD. Although the council saved the jobs of an estimated 150 civilian workers in that department — many of them specialists, such as workers who handle DNA rape kits — another 250 are still targeted for layoff. 'We took a horrible budget proposal, and we made it into one that is just very bad,' said Councilmember Bob Blumenfield, who represents part of the west San Fernando Valley. 'It took a lot of work to do that, but it is better and we did save jobs. But the fundamentals are still very bad.'
