LOS ANGELES – The reconstituted Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a plan Tuesday to put a quarter-cent sales tax to fund the fight against homelessness before voters in a special countywide election March 7.
Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas teamed up with Supervisor Janice Hahn to recommend the tax, a measure Ridley-Thomas had pushed for in July, but failed to garner enough support to pass.
The board also considered a number of other funding alternatives for homeless services, including a millionaires’ tax, a parcel tax and a tax on marijuana, but could not agree on any option to put before voters in November.
Hundreds of people were in the audience to show support for the fight against homelessness, including billionaire philanthropist Eli Broad and Los Angeles City Councilmen Gil Cedillo, Marqueece Harris-Dawson and Jose Huizar.
Organizers who assembled a crowd outside on Temple Street before the board meeting said more than 75 organizations, including community advocates, labor unions and faith groups, had joined together to press for a March ballot measure on the issue. It took more than an hour for everyone to clear through security and some were forced to stand in the back of the packed board room, while others assembled outside listening to the meeting over loudspeakers.
“This is the face of democracy in the county,” Ridley-Thomas said.
Ridley-Thomas also joined with Supervisor Kathryn Barger on a proposal to have homelessness declared a county emergency, a move that paves the way to put the sales tax on the March ballot.
That motion was also unanimously approved.
The board voted in June to press state officials to declare a statewide emergency and direct more funding to the problem. Some state lawmakers have echoed that call, but Gov. Jerry Brown has resisted such efforts.
Hahn said that if any other disaster — an earthquake, fire or flood — left 47,000 people homeless, “We would bring every resource we could and many people would stay up at night worrying” about how to get people back in their homes.
That January point-in-time count of the homeless reflects a 19 percent increase since 2013, according to the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority.
“In contrast to almost anywhere else in the United States, most people who are experiencing homelessness in the county of Los Angeles are unsheltered,” the county’s Assistant CEO Fesia Davenport said.
The number of those in tent encampments, huddled under freeway overpasses or otherwise on the street account for nearly three-quarters of the 47,000 homeless people, according to the LAHSA data.
Cedillo recalled a recent trip to Hamburg, Germany, during which he didn’t see one homeless person.
“Not one person in this county should be sleeping on the streets,” Cedillo said.
The county and most advocates across the country now back a model called “housing first,” which focuses on getting people into housing in spite of drug, alcohol or other problems they may have and then offers mental health and substance abuse treatment and other supportive services.
Officials have learned, Hahn said, “It’s impossible to get your life together if you’re on the streets.”
The quarter-cent sales tax is estimated to provide $355 million annually for 10 years. A sunset clause is built in for accountability and assessment.
The absolute numbers are large, but Phil Ansell, the director of the county’s homeless initiative, broke it down for voters, saying the tax would amount to “an additional tax of one dime on the purchase of a $40 sweater or $1 on the purchase of a $400 television.’
Two-thirds of voters will need to approve the measure for it to pass.
Other city and district elections might be consolidated on the March 7 countywide ballot.
When Ridley-Thomas first proposed a special election, he said three dozen other jurisdictions, including the city of Los Angeles, were set to hold elections in March. He estimated that a consolidated election would cost roughly $19 million, with the county to pay half.
Supervisor Kathryn Barger pressed state lawmakers to allocate additional funding to Medicaid so that more federal matching funds could be drawn down and used to provide services to the homeless.
“As we move forward, it shouldn’t be an either or, it should be an and,” Barger said of state versus county funding.
Department of Health Services Director Mitchell Katz said, “First and foremost, homelessness is a health issue.”
Katz told the story of a man he met in a county urgent care clinic.
Here we have a man in his 60s who has suffered a stroke, living in a friend’s garage and sleeping sitting up in his wheelchair,” giving him a pressure sore that won’t go away, Katz said. “There are many diseases I cannot cure … I can actually cure homelessness. The cure is a house.”
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Gowchong says
Remember the statement in that movie, “If you build it they will come….” If we want to encourage the homeless to live here, then pass that tax. And more will come. It’s a slippery slope. Dry up the larder our tax dollars provide for welfare and homeless, and guess what? They’ll go elsewhere to the places that tax the working so they can continue not working.
Just sayin…
Had enough says
When you give out free money there is no reason they will try to better themselves.
Welfare
Section 8
WIC
etc
Say it says
So people really think our politicians are going to give the tax increase to the homeless. No no no to be sticking that money in your pocket like they do with all the other taxes they collect
NoMoreTax says
How about a Fund Me account to deport the Lancaster Homeles back to LA where they came from! Any new tax will not help the AV they will only spend it in LA…
A Boy Named Sue says
I will gladly contribute to a Fund Me account to deport permanently Rex to his beach mansion so we can finally get some clear thinking, non corruptible leadership.
Randy says
If this will stop Rex and Marv from whining about 67 homeless people a day being sent to Lancaster (allegedly) and committing all the crimes on the BLVD (allegedly) then I am all for it.
Then when crime continues to rise we can see once again how full of crap Rex and Marv are.
Vulture says
Lol, absolutely not. We just raised the sales tax last month for crying out loud!
SMHX2 says
“I, the Lord, command you to do what is just and right. Protect the person who is being cheated from the one who is cheating him. Do not ill-treat or oppress foreigners, orphans, or widows; and do not kill innocent people in this holy place.” Jeremiah 22:3
As always, the first ones to complain about the 1/4 cent tax hike are the same ones that profess they are patriotic. A great majority of people with mental issues are military veterans. Where the fxxx is your patriotism you hypocrites? As the article states, this is not only a shelter issue, it is also a health issue that affects everyone in the county. Also, don’t forget that most Americans are only a paycheck away from experiencing a homelessness. I FULLY SUPPORT THIS MEASURE AND YOU SHOULD TOO, IF YOU HAVE SOME COMMON SENSE AND DECENCY.
Patriot says
But wait smhx2, I thought your buddys obama care was supposed to heal everyone, remember?wheres the healthcare for them, and while you are at it, tell us why there are double the homeless, since obama.
SMHX2 says
Still can’t punctuate correctly, @Patriot?
In response to your comment: don’t worry, Don the Con will fix everything for you whinny little bitchxx, enjoy, because he will get rid of anything and everything that services the lower class Americans. You will get what you paid for, I can’t wait to see this happen, I have my popcorn ready for the show.
Where did you get your statistics about double the homeless since Obama? Dumbaxx G. W. Bush created the housing crash in ’06 and the latest economic recession in late ’07, it must be fun to forget such small details! @Patriot, we all know that you get your news from Alex Jones, Bill O’Reilly and David Duke’s KKK webpage, but try to make it less conspicuous (you’ll probably need a dictionary for the last word). Have a nice day!
Patriot says
06,07?good for you.I was talking about 2016.you know,Barry said all will have health care.Did you want to talk about Reagan?Seems like if there were less or no illegals,homeless would have a roof,food and medical.Check out what Los Angeles pays out for illegals,54 million a day.Tissues are on sale for you,2/5.00
Tim Scott says
LOL…there were no illegals because Reagan gave them amnesty you dolt.
Patriot says
Another lib name calling, grow up tim.who the hell cares.try living in the here and now.i realize you and the other cry baby libs, not only got your ass kicked in this election, but you backed a loser, who has done nothing, in 8 years.what does your rant about Reagan have to do with taking care of homeless.you try to be funny, and smart.you just keep missing the mark.
Tim Scott says
LOL…You want to complain about name calling…in a post where you call me a bunch of names. You’d be hilarious if widespread lack of knowledge weren’t proving to be dangerous.
Tired of BS says
Those guys made their own choice to join the service no one forced them into it. And for what? To go fight for some fat cats hidden agenda and kill innocent people while they’re doing it. [removed] out here with your false valor. I may not be a rich man but I can proudly say I’ve earned everything I have and I take care of my own.
SMHX2 says
….now, there is someone unpatriotic for your axx! People like @Tired of BS should be the ones deported to Antarctica ASAP.
Hope you don’t have children and that Don the Con does not bring back the draft, his stupidity will begin WWIII for sure. Also, I hear that perhaps soon females will need to register for the selective service (sss.gov). May you never have to bury a son/daughter that fought for your liberty to spew stupidity or worse, may they never suffer from PTSD or become crippled. You are disgusting!
Tim Scott says
Earned every street you drive on?
Provide round the clock security for your property every day?
Built your own power plant and drilled your own well?
Import your own food, or do you grow it all?
You clowns that think you are so self sufficient are hysterically funny…or would be if being so grossly out of touch with reality didn’t make you dangerous.
Gowchong says
Ummmm…some of us were forced into the service. That or go to Canada. Remember the draft during Vietnam? Oh no? You weren’t born yet? Or what?
I can also say that while I am not rich, I EARNED two baccalaureate degrees and a master’s degree. I educated kids for 30 years. This after coming home from the equivalent of two tours in Vietnam, PTSD be damned.
I’m saying that to raise the tax will only mean more $$ for more homeless, and they will come in droves because we are supplying them with the means to continue living in homeless conditions. Let’s stop the taxing of the hard working, and maybe the homeless will move to Washington or somewhere else.
Tim Scott says
Is “let’s make the problem someone else’s rather than solving it” something you learned in the military? That certainly isn’t how I was taught.
Rego says
Let’s drain the bureaucratic swamp of LA County and see how much wasted cash is out there! Mills and Mills?
Let’s look at the balance sheets of all these
Snake Oil Salesmen
Rego says
JF Christ don’t you chislers ever quit diggin into our f*****’
Wallets
ANNON says
Well said.
Just tired of BS says
These corrupt politicians will always find a way to get a piece of the pie. Why more taxes ? Don’t try to make the tax payers pay more so we can support some lazy people that have no fight left in them. You guys pay for it with your fat wallets!!!
I’m commuting 2 hours a day so I can work to have a roof over my family’s head and we’re still living check to check. So don’t come to me with some sob story about some druggie that can’t get rid of his sores because he has no bed to sleep in . Stop siphoning the hard working people of this state . It’s time to hold all of these parasites accountable.
ANNON says
More taxes…. FORGET IT!
Colleen says
As a resident of Lancaster, I can support this 100%. Everyone has skin in the game.
Not just property owners.