"The county submitted a joint application for a state homelessness grant with Oakland, but heard back that it needs to be altered in order to be compliant, said Supervisor Lena Tam at Tuesday's board meeting. The issue, according to the county, are big changes Houston wants Oakland to adopt, including a new rule that would no longer require Oakland to offer shelter to residents when clearing an encampment."
"Supervisor David Haubert was initially skeptical about sending the letter. The current approach to homelessness in the county and the state isn't working, he said. "If the city of Oakland wants to do something that'll contradict the state's guidelines and we think that'll work...we also need to stand up for ourselves," Haubert said. But after hearing more details, he switched course and agreed, "The city of Oakland can't jeopardize the rest of the county's funding.""
Alameda County supervisors urged Oakland leaders to withdraw or modify proposed changes to the city's encampment rules to avoid jeopardizing more than $40 million in state homelessness funds. Councilmember Ken Houston's Encampment Abatement Policy would remove the requirement to offer shelter to residents when clearing an encampment. The county and Oakland submitted a joint application for a state homelessness grant that requires compliance with state guidelines. State Sen. Jesse Arreguín, Assemblymember Mia Bonta, and officials in the governor's cabinet provided red-line suggestions and urged reconsideration. Supervisor David Haubert initially opposed sending a warning letter but later agreed that Oakland cannot endanger county funding. Jonathan Russell said the state has a low threshold for compliance.
Read at The Oaklandside
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