good morning. Welcome to LA on the Record, City Hall’s newsletter. David Zahniser and Rebecca Ellis provide the latest information on city and county government.

Los Angeles elected officials received a blunt warning this week about the rising costs of combating the city’s homelessness crisis.

of Greater LA Coalition on HomelessnessA nonprofit organization representing dozens of homeless service providers in Los Angeles County says it won’t be fully paid for the services it provides at the city’s “transitional” housing facilities serving Angeleno residents who have been displaced from sidewalk encampments. He said he did not.

Unless the City Council significantly increases the amount it pays nonprofits to staff the city’s homeless shelters, tiny house villages and other facilities, some organizations are likely to exit to avoid further losses. Coalition members said.

That uplifting message was delivered in a closed-door meeting with the mayor on Monday. Karen Bass team. This was echoed two days later at City Council’s homeless committee, where some warned that 1,288 homeless beds in 14 facilities were now at risk.

rowan vanslaveThe president of the nonprofit organization Hope the Mission said homeless service providers are incurring significant losses and facing the prospect of “demobilization” of certain transitional housing sites. Without the rate increase, “we would eliminate 14 facilities across the system,” he told the committee.

“And this is not an isolated incident,” he said. “In fact, this is a clear warning that our homeless services system is on the brink of collapse.”

Vanslev made the remarks a day after voters passed a countywide half-cent sales tax that is expected to generate $1 billion a year for homeless services and affordable housing. The bill, and its recent passage, are currently at the center of a battle over how much cities and counties pay homeless service providers.

“The people of Los Angeles want this crisis to be addressed. They’re willing to fund real solutions. That’s what the Measure A passage tells us. ” he said. jerry jonesexecutive director of the Greater LA Coalition on Homelessness, which represents “55 nonprofits on the front lines of homelessness.”

Jones and the coalition are asking the city to increase fees at some homeless facilities from a range of $60 to $66 per night to $89 per bed starting Jan. 1. He said facilities with fewer than 50 beds would have to increase prices even further, reaching $116 per bed per night.

The coalition government is also calling for an even bigger increase in nightly bed prices, from July 1 to up to $139. Jones said the amount would reflect the actual cost of transitional housing services, such as staffing, food, security, insurance and other costs. This number first appeared in Third party analysis The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority made the announcement earlier this year.

Jones said many temporary housing workers are struggling to make ends meet while doing important work for the city. Their financial hardships have led to high turnover among staff at homeless nonprofits, he said.

City budget officials are proposing a series of rate increases over the next nine months, acknowledging they are not paying the full cost of homeless services. But the increase they are proposing is smaller than the increase the Coalition government is seeking.

under City proposalFor transitional homeless housing facilities with 51 beds or more, room rates will reach $69 per night on January 1st and jump again to $89 per bed on July 1st. For smaller facilities (facilities with 50 beds or less), the cost per night will likely increase. On January 1st, it will be $79, and on July 1st, it will be $116.

city ​​administrator Matt Szabo He objected to the $139 fee cited in the study, saying the figure includes some services the city already pays for in other ways. If approved, the increase would add at least $186 million to the city’s 2025-2026 budget, Szabo said.

Asked about the warning from the nonprofit coalition, Bass said the city welcomed the passage of Measure A, which would double the current quarter-sales tax on homeless services.

“Let me tell you one thing: We’re not going to close down facilities and put people on the streets,” Bass said Thursday at a news conference in the San Fernando Valley. “Fortunately, Measure A eliminates the need to put people on the streets.”

Some city council members seemed even more frustrated by the situation, which came amid the city’s major financial crisis. City Council members are already planning new cuts to balance the budget and replenish the city’s reserve fund.

If the council doesn’t provide nonprofits with the increases they’re asking for, those groups could run “unsustainable deficits” and temporary housing sites could close, councilors said. Bob Blumenfieldserves on the Homeless Committee.

But if the City Council agrees to pay higher fees, there may not be enough money to keep all of the city’s temporary housing sites open, Blumenfield said.

In that scenario, the city would decide which facilities to close, he said.

Further complicating matters, the city pays unusually high fees to nonprofits hired under the mayor’s Homeless Initiative, Inside Safe. It has moved homeless residents into dozens of hotels and motels, currently paying service providers $110 per bed per night.

Member of Parliament Monica RodriguezHe, who serves on the Homeless Task Force, expressed frustration that the city pays a set fee for a suite of transitional housing facilities and an even higher fee for facilities overseen by the mayor.

Rodriguez said it can be difficult to keep costs in line when a city program already pays high fees.

“We’re negotiating against ourselves,” she said.

clara kargerA bus spokesperson said Inside Safe’s fares are higher because “more is expected” from that program. The higher rate ensures the ability of homeless agencies to help “more people get off the streets and stay in their homes than ever before,” she said.

“We wanted to improve the standard of service, and we are seeing tangible results,” Karger said in an email.

The city council needs to make a decision by the end of this month to implement the increase by January 1st. City officials are working with Los Angeles County, which also pays for transitional housing services, to consider raising prices.

State of play

— No surprises: Votes are still being counted, but so far there have been no surprises in the city’s three municipal elections. Member of Parliament heather hat A lawyer who lost easily grace yu The district stretches from Koreatown to the Crenshaw Corridor. Former state legislator Adolin Nazarian Far ahead of small business owners Jillian Burgos Located in the San Fernando Valley. And on the East Side, tenant rights lawyers Isabel Jurado Representatives who lost their elections kevin de leon He had been politically scarred by the audio leak scandal two years earlier.

— Finally, make a concession. De Leon conceded the race late Friday afternoon. Congratulations Jurado is participating in a “well-fought campaign” and wishes her every success as she leads the district. “The future is bright for our district, and I remain dedicated to continuing the fight for equity, opportunity, and dignity for all Angelenos,” he said on Instagram.

— Gogo, Gasson: former federal prosecutor Nathan Hockman They won the Los Angeles County district. Atty. Georges Gascon on tuesday. Gascón, who took office in 2020 with a promise of criminal justice reform, blamed his defeat on “a shift to the right across America.”

— knife edge: Measure G, L.A. County’s ballot measure to expand the size of the Board of Supervisors and create a new countywide elected official, received just over 50% of the vote on Friday’s vote. supervisor Lindsay HorvathHe, who led the effort, said the latest tally was “proof of what is possible with a new generation of leadership.”

— avoid jail: He was a key witness in the federal government’s corruption investigation into City Hall. now, George Esparzaformer city council member Jose Huizar’s The special assistant was sentenced to three years’ probation. Two other people in the extortion case, former lobbyists molly goldman and real estate consultant george chanwas also placed on probation this week.

— Chief: The city council approved the mayor’s approval. Karen Bass“Choose a new police chief, Voting 11-2 For confirmation of former county sheriff Jim McDonnell. City Council members voted after McDonnell harshly criticized the incoming Trump administration’s strategy to protect illegal immigrants. Member of Parliament Eunice Hernandez and Hugo Soto–martinez Voted no.

— Get a moving van: The County Board of Supervisors has voted to purchase one of the most famous skyscrapers in downtown Los Angeles for $200 million. supervisor Janice Hahn He was the only vote against the purchase, arguing that moving county government from the Kenneth Hahn Executive Building would destroy the downtown civic center.

quick hit

• Where is Inside Safe? The Mayor’s Program to Combat Homelessness went to an encampment outside the Silver Lake Hotel, which has been used as an Inside Safe facility for more than a year. That site and several others visited by Inside Safe this week are in the Soto Martinez neighborhood. Inside Safe also visited the Chateau Recreation Center area in Koreatown, which Hutt represents.

• Next week’s record: The City Council canceled next week’s meeting to allow members to attend a National League of Cities meeting.