LA County Board

16. Declaration of Local Emergency for Homelessness - Implementation\nActions\nRecommendation as submitted by Supervisors Horvath and Barger: Adopt the\nthree strategic missions - Encampment Resolution, Housing, and Mental Health\nand Substance Use Disorder Services (collectively, the PEH Missions) ,\nrecommended in the Chief Executive Officer’s report dated January 23, 2023,\nand instruct the Executive Director of the Homeless Initiative to develop a\ngovernance and implementation framework leveraging the Anti-Racism,\nDiversity and Inclusion (ARDI) equity tools to ensure equitable implementation\nof the PEH Missions, and establish goals and key performance metrics for each\nPEH Mission, with the encampment resolution and solutions to be led with care\nfirst, to ensure that when encampments are resolved , individuals living in those\nencampments have a safe place to go and are provided the housing and\nservices they need; and take the following actions: (Relates to Agenda No. 1-D)\nAuthorize the Chief Executive Officer, in collaboration with the Interim\nCounty Counsel, Auditor-Controller, and impacted County Departments,\nto implement contracting and procurement changes in response to the\nproclamation of local emergency for homelessness (Homeless\nEmergency), unless otherwise required by State or Federal law:\nAuthorize the Chief Executive Officer and impacted County\nDepartments, to enter into and/or amend agreements, for\nprofessional and other services, that support the Homeless\nEmergency and PEH Missions within the County, without adhering\nto the requirements of the County's Sole Source Policy or any\nother competitive procurement requirements and terminate said\nagreements as necessary, provided:\nThe Chief Executive Officer confirms in writing that there is\ngood cause justification for the execution of the agreement,\nand/or amendment, in that it implements or is in support of a\nPEH Mission in response to the Homeless Emergency;\nThe Chief Executive Officer confirms in writing that funds\nhave been approved by the Board, or by a Board office, in\nits County Homeless Prevention Initiative - Homeless\nServices Fund, or are otherwise budgeted Federal, State or\nlocal funds that can be used to implement or support a PEH\nMission in response to the Homeless Emergency; and\nThe term of the agreement, including all change or work\norders, shall expire no later than two years after the Board\nterminates the Homeless Emergency, unless the\nDepartment has obtained Board authority to extend the\nagreement for a longer term;\nFor purchases of goods, including supplies, equipment, and services\nneeded to implement or support a PEH Mission in response to the\nHomeless Emergency:\nIncrease impacted County Departments’ delegated purchasing\nauthority to $50,000 and, to the extent legally permitted, authorize\nimpacted County Departments to enter into and amend\nagreements, including work or purchase orders, and other\nservices or commodities, without adhering to the requirements of\nthe County's Sole Source Policy, or any other competitive\nprocurement requirements, provided the Department has good\ncause justification for the execution of the agreement, and/or\namendment, in that it implements or is in support of a PEH Mission\nin response to the Homeless Emergency, and terminate said\nagreements, as necessary; and\nAuthorize the Chief Executive Officer, and instruct the County’s\nPurchasing Agent, as applicable, to the extent legally permitted, to\napprove any purchases that otherwise would require Board\napproval under current law, regulations, or Board policies , take\nany procurement or other actions necessary for the expedited\nacquisition of all goods, including supplies, equipment, and\nservices needed, without adhering to the requirements of the\nCounty’s Sole Source Policy, Purchasing Policies, or any other\ncompetitive procurement requirements , provided the Chief\nExecutive Officer confirms in writing that there is good cause\njustification for the purchase, in that it implements or is in support\nof a PEH Mission in response to the Homeless Emergency , and\nwhen necessary, authorize the Purchasing Agent to make\npurchases in excess of $250,000 without prior Board approval;\nTo improve hiring in support of PEH Missions in response to the\nHomeless Emergency:\nInstruct the Director of Personnel to approve Departmental hiring\nwithout an examination , as authorized pursuant to Civil Service\nRule 13.04, for all positions that support a PEH Mission, provided\nthe Chief Executive Officer confirms in writing that the positions\nsupport a PEH Mission, in response to the Homeless Emergency ,\nand that relevant qualifications have been met by the applicant;\nAuthorize Departments, to the extent legally permitted, to provide\nhiring and retention incentives for positions with a direct\nconnection to a designated PEH Mission, including, but not limited\nto, signing bonuses, retention bonuses, longevity bonuses,\nbonuses for field-based work, or housing stipends, provided the\nChief Executive Officer confirms in writing that the proposed\npositions support a PEH Mission in response to the Homeless\nEmergency, and sufficient funds are budgeted to support the\npositions; and\nAuthorize the Chief Executive Officer to temporarily delegate\nauthority, for a period to be determined by the Chief Executive\nOfficer, to Departments to approve new ordinance-only items and\nspecial step placements for positions that support a PEH Mission,\nprovided the Chief Executive Officer confirms in writing that the\nproposed positions support a PEH Mission in response to the\nHomeless Emergency, and sufficient funds are budgeted to\nsupport the positions;\nTo expedite the use of property to support interim and permanent\nhousing for people experiencing homelessness, find that making available\nCounty property or acquiring property to support a PEH Mission meets\nthe social needs of the population of the County, pursuant to California\nGovernment Code Section 26227, and is in the best interest of the\nCounty and the general public, and authorize the Chief Executive Officer,\nusing funds budgeted by the Board for this purpose, to:\nNegotiate, execute and amend leases or other agreements, to\nmake available, at less than fair market value to a public agency,\nnonprofit corporation, or nonprofit association , any real property\nof the County that is not and, during the time of possession, will\nnot be needed for County purposes, to be used to support a PEH\nMission in response to the Homeless Emergency, in compliance\nwith Government Code Section 26227 and the California\nEnvironmental Quality Act (CEQA);\nNegotiate, execute, and amend purchase and sale agreements\nand other agreements, to acquire real property for the purposes of\nsubsection a, above, in compliance with Government Code\nSection 26227 and CEQA, and subject to the Chief Executive\nOfficer conducting customary due diligence, with the purchase\nprice supported by an appraisal, and take all further actions\nnecessary and appropriate to complete the transactions, including\nopening and management of escrow, any administrative\nadjustments to the transfer documents, execution of all the\nrequisite documentation for the completion of the transfer, and\nacceptance of the deed conveying title to the real property to the\nCounty of Los Angeles;\nNegotiate, execute, and amend funding agreements and other\nagreements with public agencies, nonprofit corporations, or\nnonprofit associations receiving real property for the purposes of\nsubsection a, above, to fund the improvement or development of\nfacilities to support the PEH Mission on the real property\ntransferred, in compliance with Government Code Section 26227\nand CEQA; and\nAuthorize the Auditor-Controller to issue warrants, as directed by\nthe Chief Executive Officer, for the above actions and any other\nrelated costs;\nTo improve homeless service delivery, delegate authority to the\nDepartments to apply for , and accept new or expanded grant\nagreements, that support a PEH Mission, provided the Chief Executive\nOfficer confirms in writing that the services funded by the grant support a\nPEH Mission in response to the Homeless Emergency, sufficient funds\nare budgeted for matching or other grant requirements, and adopt and\ninstruct the Chair to sign a resolution authorizing County Departments to\napply for, and receive State, Federal, or local funds and to execute all\nnecessary agreements for use of such funds and to take all related\nactions, including execution of any necessary documents;\nTo optimize spending in support of the Homeless Emergency, delegate\nauthority to the Chief Executive Officer to increase or decrease\nallocation amounts to County Departments, as well as the Los Angeles\nHomeless Services Authority and Los Angeles County Development\nAuthority, and across service types for any Board-approved budgeted\nfunding sources administered by the Homeless Initiative, including, but\nnot limited to, Measure H revenue and Homeless Housing, Assistance\nand Prevention grant funds;\nClarify and declare that, in approving the above authorities and\ndelegations of authority, it is also the intent of the Board to ensure\nappropriate oversight and stewardship of public funds, and therefore,\ndirect the Chief Executive Officer to work with all impacted Departments\nto develop an implementation protocol for the above directives, which\nincludes appropriate controls, tracking, metrics, auditing and regular\npublic reporting, and report back to the Board in writing in 45 days on\nthe implementation protocols; and\nDirect the Chief Executive Officer to begin hiring the necessary staff\nwithin HI to implement the above authorities, as specified in the Chief\nExecutive Officer’s report dated January 31, 2023, and report back to\nthe Board during the Fiscal Year 2023-24 Final Changes budget phase,\nwith recommended position allocations and funding. (23-0600)\nAttachments: Motion by Supervisors Horvath and Barger\nChief Executive Officer's Report dated January 23, 2023\nChief Executive Officer's Report dated January 31, 2023\nPublic Comment/Correspondence