The recent vote by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors to strip over $300 million in taxpayer funding from the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) was more than a bureaucratic reshuffle — it was a long-overdue reckoning with a failed system and a wake-up call for how we address the humanitarian crisis unfolding on our streets.
As executive director of the California Contract Cities Association, representing 80 member cities across Los Angeles County, and as a former member of the Blue-Ribbon Commission on Homelessness, I have had the opportunity to help shape and now advocate for the implementation of reforms that are bold, necessary, and long overdue.
For years, cities have sounded the alarm: our streets are overwhelmed, our residents are losing faith, and our local governments are often left without the tools or authority to respond. Meanwhile, audits exposed billions in unaccounted taxpayer dollars and federal judges condemned LAHSA’s chronic mismanagement. Yet for too long, the region clung to a fragmented system that was too complex to navigate, too slow to respond, and so convoluted, no one could be held accountable.
The Board’s 4-0 vote to move homelessness funding and coordination under direct county government control is not just a shift in governance — it is a declaration that the status quo has failed and that we cannot afford to wait any longer. Supervisor Lindsey Horvath said it best: “Investments must be connected to outcomes — outcomes that this board ultimately must be responsible for.”
This new structure, which includes the creation of a County Department of Homelessness, a joint administrative team by April 2025, and a full transition plan by July of next year, gives us a rare chance to rebuild a broken system from the ground up — but only if cities are treated as equal partners in the solution.
Cities are where the crisis is most visible, and where the consequences of failure are most painful. We are on the front lines every day, responding to encampments, fielding complaints from residents, and trying to deliver services with limited authority and resources. Yet under the old model, cities were often sidelined, forced to rely on agencies that didn’t understand our local dynamics or couldn’t deliver in time.
That must end now.
My testimony before the board was clear: local governments must be deeply embedded in the planning, implementation, and oversight of the new county department. From housing placements to mental health coordination, no strategy will succeed without local input, local flexibility, and local accountability.
The county’s decision to model the new approach after Housing for Health is a smart move. Evaluated by RAND as one of the most effective programs in the region, it emphasizes personalized, data-driven care. But scaling that success will require transparency, contract accountability, and a genuine partnership with cities who are ready and eager to lead on this issue.
We must also reject the notion that this is simply a transfer of funds from one bureaucracy to another. As Supervisor Kathryn Barger said, “The buck stops here.” This is a unique moment to create a streamlined, outcome-focused system that ties funding to measurable success, with public dashboards and real-time tracking of how services are delivered.
Some have expressed concern about the pace of change. But with seven people dying on our streets every day, delay is not an option. Cities are ready to act now, and we expect the County to match that urgency by engaging us from the start and ensuring the transition does not disrupt the critical work happening on the ground.
Let me be clear: This transition will only succeed if cities are no longer an afterthought. We must be at the table — not as observers, but as co-authors of the solutions our communities deserve.
The county has taken the first major step. Now it must finish the job — with cities at its side, every step of the way.
Marcel Rodarte is the executive director of California Contract Cities Association, an organization representing over 80 cities throughout Los Angeles County and the Inland Empire and former member of the Blue-Ribbon Commission on Homelessness