By JOSE HERRERA | City News Service
The Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday postponed a vote on the proposed distribution of $177 million to four organizations for homeless prevention and eviction defense services that are a part of the Stay Housed LA program.
It was the second time in about a week the council delayed the vote. Housing advocates are urging elected officials to approve the funding before March 31 to ensure services are not interrupted.
Council members John Lee and Monica Rodriguez requested the matter to be continued one week to March 10, citing a need to read a report on the item that was given to all council offices late Monday night by the City Attorney’s Office.
Some council members have raised concerns about the funding plan, noting that two of the four organizations have previously sued Los Angeles, challenging the city’s policies on homelessness.
Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson supported the delay in the vote, but emphasized the urgency of the matter. In February, he introduced a motion with colleagues Imelda Padilla, John Lee, and Katy Yaroslavsky calling for an ordinance to require companies and organizations to disclose whether they are a plaintiff in litigation with the city prior to finalizing the contracting process.
“We cannot be in a situation where we wait again, and hopefully this is the last time we get a report the night before a vote,” Harris-Dawson said during Tuesday’s meeting.
The proposal was endorsed by the council’s Housing and Homelessness Committee.
Money from Measure United to House LA, also referred to as the “mansion tax,” would be used to fund the organizations and their respective work. The 2022 voter-approved measure placed a 4% transfer tax on the sale of properties between $5 million and $10 million, and a 5.5% transfer tax on the sale of properties higher than $10 million.
Measure ULA has raised more than $1 billion dollars since it was approved, according to data from the LA Housing Department.
The Housing Department has requested the City Council and Mayor Karen Bass to authorize contracts with the following organizations:
— A nearly $107 million contract with the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles for eviction defense and prevention
— A nearly $22 million contract with Liberty Hill Foundation for tenant outreach and education services
— A nearly $7 million contract with Strategic Action For A Just Economy for outreach and education regarding the city’s Tenant Anti-Harassment Ordinance
— A $42 million contract with the Southern California Housing Rights Center for its short-term emergency assistance initiative
Additional dollars from Senate Bill 2 Permanent Local Housing Allocation Fund would support Southern California Housing Rights Center for the first year of the contract term. Subsequent years of the contract would require dollars from Measure ULA.
The city began its eviction defense program on July 1, 2021, to create stability and ensure residents can remain housed. The same year, the city entered a contract with LAFLA, which has cost a total of $90.8 million over the course of five years. It’s expected to expire on March 31.
Through that work, the city participates in the city- and county-funded Stay Housed LA program, which involves 20 organizations.
Since the start of the eviction defense program, it has helped 24,501 households — about 5,718 tenants have received full legal representation and another 18,783 tenants receive some legal aid. In total, the program has helped 55% of represented tenants stay in their homes, according to the Housing Department.
However, critics argue the city should not be contracting with organizations that have publicly expressed contrary positions to the city’s policies and interests.
Chris Wilson, director of advocacy for the Los Angeles County Business Federation, also known as BizFed, sent a letter to the council urging the city to ensure transparency and accountability.
“When organizations receiving city funds also engage in political advocacy, particularly on issues directly related to the scope of their contracts, it raises legitimate concerns about alignment with city priorities and the appropriate use of public dollars,” Wilson wrote.
Wilson urged the council to ensure, at a minimum, that all contractors engaged in lobbying should comply with the Los Angeles Municipal Lobbying Ordinance, and disclose their advocacy effort accordingly.
The Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles and SAJE have previously lobbied the City Council for greater tenant protections. Last month, Shayla Myers, a lead attorney for LAFLA, won a court ruling that blocked Los Angeles from implementing plans to remove inoperable RVs from city streets.
A representative for LAFLA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Elizabeth Hamilton, deputy director of communications and development for SAJE, said the organization is in compliance with the city’s Municipal Lobbying Ordinance. SAJE also supports the city’s enforcement of the ordinance.
Hamilton said in a statement to City News Service that SAJE does not hide its advocacy efforts and was surprised there’s an issue for the city contracting process.
“We are funded by a mix of government, foundation, and private grants. Because the city of Los Angeles does not have the capacity within its own departments to administer Stay Housed LA and other programs, for years, they have subcontracted this work out to nonprofit legal service providers and community-based organizations, including SAJE,” Hamilton said in a statement.
She emphasized that contracts do not pay for SAJE’s advocacy work. Hamilton added they often work with the city when their goals are aligned, but they are not always perfectly congruent.
“In a few cases, we have engaged in litigation against the city — as has the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles, which has received more than $150 million in subsidies for its landlord members since 2020 and has sued the city four times,” Hamilton added.
In another example, SAJE advocated for a local preference policy for renters displaced by building demolitions caused by Mayor Karen Bass’ executive order No. 1. The order streamlined the building of affordable housing units.
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Tenants and housing advocates described the Stay Housed LA program and the various services associated with it as a lifeline for many of them.
“I’m here to remind you that Keep LA Housed is one of the most essential programs for our communities,” said Maria Briones, a member of the Alliance for Community Empowerment. “If it wasn’t for this program, a lot of people would have been on the street.”
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