In Proposed Budget, Mayor Bass Wants $1.3B In Spending To Get, Keep People Housed

Unveiling her proposed budget for the coming fiscal year, Mayor Karen Bass revealed plans to spend big on buying motels and hotels for use as housing for unhoused people as part of a $1.3B investment to end homelessness in the city. 

Bass' budget called the billion-dollar spending plan "an unprecedented commitment of city investments in light of the expiration of state and federal pandemic emergency funds." 

The budget allots $47M for the city to buy hotels and commits another $110M to paying for temporary hotel stays through the Inside Safe program. The spending plan also calls for $21M for permanent housing and rental assistance for formerly homeless residents. In all, Bass wants to set aside $250M for the expansion of her Inside Safe program, including hiring more staff and providing services to help people remain housed. 

The budget also proposes "responsibly allocating" $150M of the projected collections from Measure ULA toward programs aimed at preventing housing insecurity. The largest portion of that, about $62M, would go toward buying and renovating existing housing, while about $25M each would go toward helping rent-burdened seniors and people with disabilities supplement their incomes and providing eviction defense services. 

Because there is active litigation and a pending ballot measure against Measure ULA, city advisers have cautioned that there are risks in using money from Measure ULA until all challenges are resolved. If the city spends that money and the measure is invalidated, it could be forced to pay back those funds. The mayor's budget says the city has identified more than $150M in "anticipated federal reimbursements" that it could use if the legal challenges are victorious.