City Council

(6) 23-0038 HOUSING AND HOMELESSNESS and BUDGET, FINANCE, AND INNOVATION COMMITTEES’ REPORTS relative to the United to House LA (Measure ULA) Fiscal Year (FY) 2023-24 Interim Program Guidelines and Expenditure Plan; and authority for related actions. HOUSING AND HOMELESSNESS COMMITTEE REPORT Recommendations for Council action, SUBJECT TO THE APPROVAL OF THE MAYOR: NOTE and FILE the Los Angeles Housing Department (LAHD) reports dated June 29, 2023 and July 26, 2023, attached to Council file No. 23-0038, relative to the Measure ULA FY 2023-24 Interim Program Guidelines and Expenditure Plan. ADOPT Recommendation Nos. 3 through 6 and No. 12 of the LAHD report dated July 26, 2023, attached to Council file No. 23-0038, relative to the Measure ULA FY 2023-24 Interim Program Guidelines and Expenditure Plan. REPLACE and ADOPT Recommendation Nos. 9, 10 and 14 of the LAHD report dated July 26, 2023, attached to the Council file, respectively, with the following: AUTHORIZE the General Manager, LAHD, or designee, to execute an amendment to Contract No. C-138260 with the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles. This amendment will increase the contract by $26,000,000 for a revised contract amount not to exceed $63,576,824.20, to perform services for the eviction defense and prevention and the tenant outreach and education programs, subject to contractor’s performance, funding availability, and approval of the City Attorney as to form. AUTHORIZE the General Manager, LAHD, or designee, to execute an amendment to Contract No. C-139113 with Satwic, Inc. This amendment will increase the contract by $400,000 for a revised contract amount not to exceed $8,851,566, to perform services for the short-term emergency assistance, tenant outreach and education, and protections from tenant harassment programs by updating and enhancing the LAHD website, databases, and dashboards, subject to contractor’s performance, funding availability, and approval of the City Attorney as to form. REQUEST the City Attorney, with the assistance of the LAHD, to draft an ordinance to amend Section 151.09.C.9 of Article 1, Chapter XV, and Section 165.05.B.5 of Article 5, Chapter XVI of the Los Angeles Municipal Code, in order to streamline implementation of the eviction defense and prevention program, to require landlords to provide notification to the City together with a copy of any notice to terminate tenancy either electronically as prescribed by the LAHD or by completing a form approved by the LAHD for this purpose. APPROVE the Measure ULA 2023-24 Expenditure Plan attached to the LAHD report dated July 26, 2023, attached to the Council file, which reflects amendments to the Measure ULA Spending Plan categories approved in the 2023-24 Adopted Budget. APPROVE the 2023-24 Interim Program Guidelines, attached to the Communication from the City Administrative Officer (CAO) dated August 2, 2023, attached to Council file No. 23-0038, for the following Measure ULA Programs or Categories: Short-Term Emergency Assistance; Tenant Outreach and Education, Protections from Tenant Harassment; and Eviction/Defense Prevention. REPLACE and ADOPT Recommendation Nos. 4.a and 6  of the CAO report dated July 28, 2023, attached to Council file No. 23-0038, respectively, with the following: 4.a. Prioritize Measure ULA revenue received in an amount up to $62.84 million for the following programs: 1) Short-Term Emergency Assistance; 2) Tenant Outreach and Education; 3) Eviction Defense/Prevention; and, 4) Protections from Tenant Harassment. 6.  AUTHORIZE the Controller to transfer and appropriate up to $487,500 from the House LA Fund No. 66M/43, Account No. 43Y00B, Administration to the Community Investment for Families Department (CIFD), to a to be determined Fund and Account, to fund contracts or amendments to perform application intake services for the ULA short-term emergency assistance program, and expend funds upon written demand of the General Manager, CIFD, or designee. DIRECT the LAHD to: Revise the Multifamily Affordable Housing guidelines, with a proposed spending allocation of $61.8 million, to ensure the guidelines specifically address each of the three types of projects the Department intends to expedite, which include existing projects eligible for the proposed Accelerator Plus Program, existing projects eligible under the Fast Track Loan Program, or new projects on City-owned land. Revise the Income Support for Rent-Burdened At-Risk Seniors and Persons with Disabilities guidelines, with an allocation of $25 million, to clearly outline the entity(ies) that will implement the program and the proposed operating procedures for the program. Report to the Measure ULA Citizens Oversight Committee (COC), Council and the Mayor with the revised Program Guidelines for the Multifamily Affordable Housing Program and Income Support for Seniors and Persons with Disabilities Program. Report to the Council and the Mayor with further detail regarding the Administration allocation included in the 2023-24 Expenditure Plan. Begin or continue working with the Personnel Department and the CAO’s Employee Relations Division to establish the appropriate classification and related actions for the Inspector General role/position. AUTHORIZE the General Manager, LAHD, or designee, to: Execute a sole-source contract with Cerida Investment Corp. dba AnswerNet to provide inbound and outbound call center services for the Measure ULA short-term emergency assistance program, with a compensation amount up to $500,000 and a term of one-year commencing on or about August 1, 2023, subject to contractor performance, funding availability, approval of the City Attorney as to form, and compliance with the City’s contracting requirements. Execute a sole-source contract with the Southern California Housing Rights Center to perform application screening, eligibility determinations, and disbursement of financial/rental assistance for the Measure ULA short-term emergency assistance program, with a compensation amount up to $20,700,000 and a term of one-year commencing on or about August 1, 2023, subject to contractor performance, funding availability, approval of the City Attorney as to form, and compliance with the City’s contracting requirements. Execute, on behalf of the COC, a contract with a to-be-determined entity, after a selection process defined by the COC, to serve as an interim Inspector General, with a compensation amount up to $250,000 and a term of up to two-years, subject to funding availability, review of the City Attorney as to form, and compliance with the City’s procurement and contracting requirements. AUTHORIZE the General Managers, LAHD or CIFD, or designees, to make technical corrections as necessary to the transaction included in this report to implement the intent of the transaction, subject to the approval of the CAO. INSTRUCT the CAO, with assistance of relevant departments, to report to Council within 30 days on funding sources available to the City to fill financial gaps caused by the Measure ULA receipts collection to avoid implementation delays of Measure ULA prioritized programs as identified in the proposed 2023-24 Expenditure Plan and Interim Program Guidelines, for expenditures totaling up to $150 million, as approved in the FY 2023-24 Adopted Budget. DIRECT the LAHD, along with other relevant departments, to report to Council within 30 days on the revised Measure ULA Interim Program Guidelines for the Multifamily Affordable Housing and Income Support for Rent-Burdened At-Risk Seniors and Persons with Disabilities. DIRECT the LAHD to present feasible guidelines when this matter is scheduled in Council on how small mom and pop landlords with 12 units or less, can apply for rental assistance in the case an eligible tenant has not applied for rental relief. BUDGET, FINANCE AND INNOVATION COMMITTEE REPORT Recommendations for Council action, SUBJECT TO THE APPROVAL OF THE MAYOR: CONCUR with the August 2, 2023 actions of the Housing and Homelessness Committee. RECOGNIZE that the Council is amending the ULA Guidelines and Expenditure Plan recommendations as developed by the ULA COC and presented by the LAHD per Los Angeles Municipal Code Section 22.618.5 (d) and 22.618.6 (c)(1). DIRECT the LAHD to: Revise the Short-term Emergency Rental Assistance program guidelines to include a new applicant category of “Small Housing Provider” defined as an owner of 12 rental housing units or fewer cumulatively, and allow Small Housing Providers to also initiate applications for assistance. Report within 45 days how the department will expend the budgeted amount from the Protections from Tenant Harassment line item, and whether any remaining funds can be re-appropriated to the Short-term Emergency Rental Assistance program. In coordination with the CAO and Office of the City Attorney, to develop and report with a proposed staffing plan for the Protections from Tenant Harassment program, including the enforcement of the Tenant Anti-Harassment Ordinance, and report to the ULA COC and Council to establish the projected annual cost for program implementation. INSTRUCT the Office of the Chief Legislative Analyst (CLA) to present the May 24, 2023 Homelessness Prevention Programs report (Council file No. 22-0799) to the ULA COC. REQUEST that the ULA COC incorporate the recommendations from the May 24, 2023 CLA report relative to Homelessness Prevention Programs report (Council file No. 22-0799) into the ULA Permanent Program Guidelines. DIRECT the CAO and LAHD to report quarterly to the Budget, Finance and Innovation Committee relative to monitoring ULA related contracts, including the process for contract compliance, establishing program metrics, and evaluation. AUTHORIZE a Reserve Fund loan in an amount up to $111,931,674.12 to the House LA Fund for cash flow purposes related to Measure ULA, for which transfers will be processed on an as-needed basis upon submission of proper documentation from the LAHD for Measure ULA programs that are ready for implementation, subject to the approval of the CAO. This authority will be reduced monthly in an amount equivalent to the actual receipt of Measure ULA revenue. This loan will be repaid in 2023-24 upon receipt of Measure ULA revenue.