Los Angeles homelessness governance meeting collapses after two minutes; mayor demands shared oversight

Why it matters

A general membership meeting of the Los Angeles Continuum of Care broke down about two minutes after it began on Friday (Oct 9), failing to vote on transferring administration of regional homelessness programs to Los Angeles County. Mayor Karen Bass and four City Council members issued a joint statement demanding shared city-county governance.

The meeting was to vote on shifting core administrative functions from the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA, a joint city-county agency established in 1993) to the county's new Department of Homeless Services and Housing. According to the officials' statement, organizers were unprepared for a large crowd, the meeting collapsed two minutes in, and the vote was postponed to a rescheduled date.

Bass and the councilmembers argued that Los Angeles spends hundreds of millions of dollars building housing while the county decides who is placed in it, leaving the city without enough say over housing its own taxpayers fund. They called for the city to retain a role in placement decisions and for residents' voices to be heard at the rescheduled meeting.