L.A. voters approved more money to fight homelessness. Now they want to see results.
A Los Angeles City Council committee heard plans Wednesday evening to allocate $17.5 million in bond money to fight homelessness.
The money — which will help support homelessness prevention, housing and community services — is a follow-up to the City Council’s 2017 budget, which allocated $14.8 million for homeless services.
Under the new proposal, the city would use the $17.5 million to provide services to homeless individuals and families, fund outreach groups and work with the Department of Public Works to build more affordable housing.
The new budget would also fund the creation of 100 new affordable housing units.
The first round of bond measures passed by a slim majority in May 2018.
The bond measures, which need 60 percent voter approval to pass, are for a total of $1 billion, with $100 million allocated for affordable housing.
With more than two-thirds of the population living in poverty, the L.A. City Council’s budget was controversial from the start. It was the largest increase in tax revenue from the city in three decades, and it provided a $27.5 million surplus.
The City Council’s plan in 2017 was rejected by voters and was largely seen as a last resort.
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The budget also came with a promise to freeze rent control in L.A.’s nearly 1,000 rent-regulated units, a measure that would have eliminated rent control in Los Angeles.
The council’s plan won support from both pro-development and anti-development forces.
Proposition A, the $1 billion affordable housing bond, would be supported by a supermajority of the committee, which is dominated by anti-development and development-oriented members.
Some committee members, including Councilman Paul Krekorian, said the new budget would eliminate an existing program that gives the city more control over