Acting on a motion by Coumty Supervisors Mark Ridley-Thomas and Sheila Kuehl, the Board has voted 3-2 to seek a change in state law that would keep all options open to fund the fight against homelessness.
“To address the profundity of the crisis and the depth of poverty and homelessness in the County, we have to do more,” Mr. Ridley-Thomas said during yesterday’s Board meeting. A crowd of 150 members of the public testified in support of his motion.
“It won’t get better unless we have significant intervention,” he added. “Each member of this Board has said repeatedly that one-time funding isn’t sufficient. Now it’s time to get on with the rigorous exploration of the kind of funding that would be necessary.”
With 46,874 people living on the streets of Los Angeles County on any given day – up 5.6 percent from last year –Mr. Ridley-Thomas called homelessness “the most compelling crisis that confronts us.”
He added the County is “uniquely positioned and, therefore, specifically obliged” to take action because of its massive social services, health and public safety infrastructure.
Since adopting a sweeping set of strategies February to address the worsening crisis, the Board has been weighing options for funding. This includes redirecting Measure B revenue, or imposing a parcel tax, a marijuana tax, a half-cent sales tax, or a half-percent tax on personal income exceeding $1 million a year.
A recent poll found 76 percent of likely voters favor the last option – a “dramatic level of support,” pollster David Binder told the Board.
However, the Board does not currently have the authority to put such an initiative on the November ballot. The Ridley-Thomas/Kuehl motion, which passed with the support of Hilda Solis, launches the County’s efforts to seek that authority from the state Legislature and Gov. Brown.
