Board of Supervisors - Regular Meeting

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Good morning, everyone. I'd like to bring the meeting to order. Today is Tuesday, June 16th, 2026. Please note that the supervisor Horvath will be absent from our meeting today. And we'll take note that a quorum is present and the chief executive officer, the county council executive officer and the sergeant at arms are all here to assist. We will now start the county's land acknowledgement. The County of Los Angeles recognizes that we occupy land originally and still inhabited and cared for by the Tongva, Tataviam, Serrano, Quiche, and Chumash peoples. We honor and pay respect to their elders and descendants, past, present, and emerging, as they continue their stewardship of these lands and waters. We acknowledge that settler colonization resulted in land seizure, disease, subjugation, slavery, relocation, broken promises, genocide, and multi-generational trauma. This acknowledgement demonstrates our responsibility and commitment to truth, healing, and reconciliation and to elevating the stories, culture, and community of the original inhabitants of Los Angeles County. We are grateful to have the opportunity to live and work on these ancestral lands. We are dedicated to growing and sustaining relationships with native peoples and local tribal governments, including in no particular order. Fernandeño Tataviam, Band of Mission Indians. Gabrielino Tongva, Indians of California Tribal Council. Gabrieleno Tongva, San Gabriel Band of Mission Indians. Gabrieleno Band of Mission Indians, Quiche Nation. Yahaviatam of San Manuel Nation, San Fernando Band of Mission Indians, Coastal Band of Chumash Nation, Gabrielino Tongva Nation, Gabrielino Tongva Tribe. To learn more about the First Peoples of Los Angeles County, please visit the Los Angeles City-County Native American Indian Commission website at lanais.lacounty.gov. Thank you. This morning, members, the invocation will be led by Pastor Corey Saxton and Evangelist Latora Saxton of Foundation Christian Ministries of Palmdale from the 5th District, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance, which will be led by my council member, Martin Herrera, representing the city of Albany, United States Army, and we welcome them all. So please stand with us for the invocation.

Well, good morning, everyone. I'm Pastor Corey Saxton. This is my lovely wife, Evangelist Latour Saxton. And as it was stated, we are from the 5th District in Palmdale, California.

Awesome. And we did make our way down here by way of the Angelus Crest, and we were reminded through the crest that lots of turns, lots of hills, lots of valleys, but a collective team that came together to make sure that those roads were easily traveled. And so our prayer today is that there will be hope, there will be collection of people, and that there will be just inspiration to always wonder what could we do more in this valley and in this county.

And I'd like to lead us in a brief moment of prayer. So if we can just bow our heads, please. Heavenly Father, we come before you today with grateful hearts, thanking you for the gift of this time together. We ask for your guidance as we gather to discuss plans and make decisions, fill our minds and our hearts with wisdom and understanding. and let us have patience and compassion for one another. We pray for every single person that enters into this space and every board of supervisor member and the leadership of this room. We love you and praise you in Jesus name. Amen.

Amen.

Good morning. Please face the flag. Place your right hand over your heart. If you are a military veteran, you may render a hand salute. And please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. Amen.

Supervisor Barton.

What an amazing couple you are. And thank you for coming. Whenever I see people coming from the Antelope Valley to do an invocation, I always am grateful because that is a long drive. So thank you for being here today. And won't you all please join me in thanking Pastor Corey Saxton and Evangelist LaTorah Saxton for leading us in this morning's invocation. Together, the Saxons lead Foundation Christian Ministries in Palmdale, where they are passionate about building strong families, developing leaders, and serving their community. Their work extends beyond the church through programs that support youth, foster youth, families, and survivors of human trafficking. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Pastor Corey is a creator of the blueprint model built on five Fs, faith, family, finance, fitness, and focus. I can use those all. Evangelist LaTorah is an author, speaker, and coach who helps individuals overcome barriers. What an amazing couple you are. Palmdale is lucky to have you. Pastor Corey and Evangelist LaTorah, thank you for leading us in the invocation and for your service to this amazing community. Let's give them a round of applause. This for you and this for you. I hope you're going to go on a date now. Absolutely. All right.

Beautiful. Thank you. Beautiful.

So good morning again, everyone. I want to thank our council member representing the city of El Monte and a good friend of mine, Martin Herrera, for leading us today in the Pledge of Allegiance. Council member Herrera grew up and around in El Monte. And I had forgotten that because I thought originally you were from Texas, but that's when you came back. Where, in fact, his maternal great-grandparents first migrated to El Monte in 1919 from Mexico. Wow, so you really are the true generation here. And after graduating from our local high school, Arroyo High School, Council Member Herrera worked as an emergency medical technician for a local private ambulance company, serving throughout the Los Angeles County region before enlisting in the US Army in 1996 and served as a medic. He received an honorable medical discharge following a service-connected injury. And after time in the army, council member Herrera lived in Texas where he volunteered to work for the LGBTQ plus nonprofit organizations. And as an aid to a city council member, and also as an operations and special projects manager for a municipal economic and community development corporation. No surprise to me why you're so smart. And back in 2015, he returned home to California to study political science and public administration at Pasadena City College and Cal State LA. Council member Herrera now resides in the city of El Monte where he currently serves on the city council. and he is a strong proponent of public safety and community development and is a member of the American Legion Post 261 and is on the board and secretary for the Los Angeles County LGBTQ Plus elected officials organization known as LACT-LEO. And as we commemorate the U.S. Army's birthday that we did last Sunday, I thought it was fitting to have Councilmember Herrera lead us today in the pledge to recognize the generations of service members who have safeguarded our country. And Councilmember Herrera stands among them. He's dedicated. And he has really just shown so much leadership, not only in the city, but also in the county, and helping us tremendously on helping those that are homeless in the San Gabriel Valley, including veterans. So he's an outstanding individual, and I'm just so proud that he could come and make it here today. So I know it's hard for Melmani sometimes to get out here, but I'm so happy you're here. On behalf of the entire board, this is a certificate of appreciation we'd like to present to you. And please give him a big round of applause. He's super. And I have another pin, one of ours, yeah, for LGBT. I know, that's cute. And a coin, a challenge coin.

Should we give that in?

He deserves it. Thank you so much. Good. Gracias. We're so proud of you. Supervisor Barger will present this. Also make presentations on our pets.

Yes.

For adoption. Supervisor Barger. Pets.

This one is the sweetest dog. Summer is nearly here, and I have a ray of sunshine for you to meet. This is Winston, a four-month-old Labrador pit bull mix, but I think there's a little more lab in him. He and his siblings were transferred from the Lancaster Care Center to Agora, where they've been playing, exploring, and making new friends. Winston is full of infectious puppy love. He's looking for a home with lots of love and lots of toys. He was playing with the ball upstairs and he's already learned how to sit and he is an incredibly smart dog. Call the Agoura Care Center at 818-991-0071 to give Winston the life that he deserves. And isn't he sweet? This one is very sweet. Now turn your attention to the screen for our pet from Palmdale. Meet Aneken, a three-year-old German shepherd. He was brought to the shelter because his owners were moving and couldn't take them with him. Though he is shy at first, he really is opened up on the play yard, so he just needs to be pulled out of his shell. He's proven to be gentle, sweet, and a very, very affectionate dog. You can call the Palmdale Care Center at 661-575-2888 to make Anika yours. And as a reminder, we've got the senior pet promotion still going on. Throughout June, dogs and cats six years and older have all their adoption fees waived. Visit animalcare.lacounty.gov to find the one love that you would love to take home. And then I would just say to my colleagues, and I know we all agree spay and neutering is so important. We're seeing more and more puppies coming from the Antelope Valley. I think it's important we talked about getting a van out there to go out and do outreach. It's something that that is causing our shelters to become overcrowded. And these puppies are sweet, but they we need to really do more outreach to educate, especially in the unhoused community. Yeah, thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you very much. Executive officer, please call the agenda.

Good morning, Madam Chair, members of the board. Today's agenda will begin on page two, set matter. On set matter one, this is a report by the chief executive officer on the county's budget, including the latest federal and state policy changes with potential impacts to county staff, contracted providers, and service delivery. This item will be held for report. On page three, consent calendar. Board of Supervisors, items two through 17. On item 10, Supervisor Barger requests that this item be held. On item 13, Supervisor Solis requests that this item be held with items 81B and 2P. On item 16, Supervisor Horvath requests that this item be continued two weeks to June 30th, 2026. On item 17, the Chief Sustainability Officer requests that this item be continued to July 21st, 2026. On page 16, administrative matters items, items 18 through 83. On item 37, Supervisor Mitchell requests that this item be continued two weeks to June 30th, 2026. On item 39, Supervisor Barger requests that this item be continued to July 14th, 2026. On item 40, Supervisor Mitchell recused herself pursuant to government code section 84308 because she received a contribution or contributions of more than $500 within the past 12 months from Jim Mangia, who is a party participant or agent of a party or participant in the proceeding. On item 47, this is a recommendation to adopt and instruct the chair to sign a resolution approving the plan of financing and issuance of bonds by LACDA in an aggregate principal amount not exceeding $87,500,176 to assist the borrower to finance the site acquisition, construction, and development of the Esperanza VILLAGE PROJECT LOCATED ON COUNTY LAND AT 4024 DURFY AVENUE IN THE CITY OF EL MONTE. ON ITEM 48, THIS IS A RECOMMENDATION TO ADOPT AND INSTRUCT THE CHAIR TO SIGN A RESOLUTION APPROVING THE PLAN OF FINANCING AND INSURANCE OF BONDS BY LACDA IN AN AGGREGATE PRINCIPAL AMOUNT NOT EXCEEDING $80 MILLION TO ASSIST A BORROWER TO FINANCE THE SITE ACQUISITION, CONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE CENTURY RESTORATIVE CARE VILLAGE PHASE 2 PROJECT LOCATED ON COUNTY-OWNED LAND AT 1325 NORTH MISSION ROAD IN THE CITY OF LOS ANGELES. ON ITEM 49, THIS IS A RECOMMENDATION TO ADOPT AND INSTRUCT THE CHAIR TO SIGN A RESOLUTION APPROVING THE PLAN OF FINANCING AND ISSUANCE OF BONDS BY LACDA IN AN AGGREGATE PRINCIPAL AMOUNT NOT EXCEEDING $72,276,000 TO ASSIST A BORROWER TO FINANCE THE SITE ACQUISITION, CONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE SANCOFA PLACE AT SENTINELA PROJECT LOCATED AT 400 SENTINELA AVENUE IN THE CITY OF INGLEWOOD. ON PAGE 63, SUPERVISOR MITCHELL REQUESTS THAT THIS ITEM BE CONTINUED TO JULY 14, 2026, AS INDICATED ON THE SUPPLEMENTAL AGENDA. ON PAGE 64, THIS INCLUDES MISCELLANEOUS ADDITIONS TO THE AGENDA WHICH WERE POSTED MORE THAN 72 HOURS IN ADVANCE OF THE MEETING, AS INDICATED ON THE SUPPLEMENTAL AGENDA, ITEMS 81A AND 81B. ON ITEM 81B, SUPERVISOR SOLIS REQUESTS THAT THIS ITEM BE HELD WITH ITEMS 13 AND 2P. ON PAGE 65, SEPARATE MATTER, ITEMS 84, ON PAGE 66, SPECIAL DISTRICT AGENDA, THIS IS THE AGENDA FOR THE MEETING OF THE LOS ANGELES COUNTY DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY, ITEMS 1D THROUGH 4D. ON ITEM 2D, THIS IS A RECOMMENDATION TO ADOPT AND INSTRUCT THE CHAIR TO SIGN A RESOLUTION APPROVING THE ISSUANCE, SALE AND DELIVERY OF MULTIFAMILY HOUSING REVENUE BONDS OR NOTES BY LACDA TO ASSIST NATIONAL COMMUNITY RENAISSANCE OF CALIFORNIA IN PRIMA DEVELOPMENT TO FINANCE DEVELOPMENT OF THE ESPERANZA VILLAGE PROJECT. On item 3D, this is a recommendation to adopt and instruct the Chair to sign a resolution approving the issuance, sale, and delivery of multifamily housing revenue bonds or notes by LACDA to assist Sankofa Place LP to finance the development of the Sankofa Place at Centinella project. ON ITEM 4D, THIS IS A RECOMMENDATION TO ADOPT AND INSTRUCT THE CHAIR TO SIGN A RESOLUTION APPROVING THE ISSUANCE, SALE AND DELIVERY OF REVENUE BONDS OR NOTES BY LACDA TO ASSIST TO FINANCE THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE CENTURY RESTORATIVE CARE VILLAGE PHASE 2 PROJECT. ON PAGE 70, THIS IS AN AGENDA FOR THE REGIONAL PARK AND OPEN SPACE DISTRICT OF THE COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES ITEMS 1P AND 2P. ON ITEM 2P, SUPERVISOR SOLIS REQUESTS THAT THIS ITEM BE HELD WITH ITEMS 13 AND 81B. ITEM 2P IS AN ADDITION AS INDICATED ON THE SUPPLEMENTAL AGENDA. ON PAGE 71, NOTICES OF CLOSED SESSION ITEMS CS1 THROUGH CS12. ON ITEM CS1 THROUGH CS4, COUNTY COUNCIL REQUESTS THAT THESE ITEMS BE CONTINUED TO JULY 21, 2026. ON ITEM CS5 THROUGH CS7, SUPERVISOR HORFATH REQUESTS THAT THESE ITEMS BE CONTINUED ONE WEEK TO JUNE 23, 2026. ON CS8, COUNTY COUNCIL REQUESTS THAT THIS ITEM BE TAKEN OFF CALENDAR AS INDICATED ON THE SUPPLEMENTAL AGENDA. ON CS9, COUNTY COUNCIL REQUESTS THAT ONE CASE BE CONTINUED TO JUNE 23, 2026 AND ONE BE CONTINUED TO JULY 21, 2026. ALSO, THIS INCLUDES AN ADDITION AS INDICATED ON THE SUPPLEMENTAL AGENDA. On item CS10, Supervisor Horfast requests that this item be continued one week to June 23rd, 2026. On item CS11, County Council requests that this item be continued to July 21st, 2026. The request for continuances in item taken off calendar through CS12 are before you. That completes the reading of the agenda, Madam Chair.

Thank you. Very long one. Moved by Supervisor Hahn, seconded by Supervisor Barger to approve these items. That will be the order. Next, Executive Officer, please play the Code of Conduct.

Ladies and gentlemen, may I please have your attention. The meeting of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is about to commence. A Code of Conduct will now be read, and we request that you comply with it to ensure the efficient administration of the meeting. Members of the public, it is your right to participate in today's Board hearing, and the Board encourages such participation. However, the right of the public to address the Board must be balanced with the need to ensure that public comment does not interfere with the orderly course of the Board's business. All are reminded to abide by the following rules. Speakers must cease speaking immediately when their time has ended. Public comment on agenda items must relate to the subject matter of that item. General public comment is limited to subjects within the jurisdiction of the Board. Public comment does not include the right to engage in a dialogue with Board members or staff. Please remain respectful of the forum and refrain from uttering, writing, or displaying profane, personal, threatening, derogatory, demeaning, or other abusive statements toward the Board, any member thereof, staff, or any other person. Members of the audience should be respectful of the views expressed by speakers, staff, and board members, and may not clap, cheer, whistle, or otherwise disrupt the orderly conduct of the meeting. Any person engaging in conduct that disrupts the meeting is subject to being removed from the board meeting. And finally, if you witness conduct or behavior by other members of the public that disrupts your ability to remain engaged or participate in this meeting, please notify the sergeant at arms or other county staff. Thank you for your cooperation.

Thank you. Today's meeting order will be the following. Public comment on items not held for discussion by the board, including the closed session matters, followed by set matter one, then item 10, followed by items 13, 81B, and 2P, which will be taken up together. Then general public comment and finishing out with closed session matters. So before we begin, executive officer, please read the call-in information and explain the speaking rules. Thank you.

Good morning, members of the public. If you wish to participate in the public comment, you may do so in person or remotely. To participate remotely, please visit our website at www.bos.lacounty.gov to register and join the meeting, or you may call 213-306-3065 and use access code 25367974300 and the meeting password 2672026. YOU WILL HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO ADDRESS THE BOARD THROUGHOUT THE MEETING. FOR ITEMS NOT HELD BY THE BOARD, YOU WILL RECEIVE ONE MINUTE FOR ONE ITEM AND UP TO TWO MINUTES FOR TWO OR MORE ITEMS. FOR ITEMS HELD BY SUPERVISORS, YOU WILL HAVE ONE MINUTE TO ADDRESS THE BOARD AND ONE MINUTE TO ADDRESS THE BOARD ON GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT FOR A TOTAL OF UP TO SIX MINUTES. WHEN IT IS YOUR TURN TO SPEAK, IF REGISTERED ON A COMPUTER OR DEVICE, YOU WILL HEAR A BEEP AND YOUR NAME WILL BE CALLED. OR IF JOINING BY TELEPHONE, YOU WILL HEAR YOUR LINE IS UNMUTED, YOUR AREA CODE AND THE FIRST THREE DIGITS OF YOUR PHONE NUMBER WILL BE CALLED. To ensure we hear from both in-person and remote speakers, we will alternate between the two speaking cues. Members of the public who are in attendance, when you hear or see your name displayed on the screen, please come down to the front of the boardroom and staff will assist you. Please do not approach the podium until directed to do so. Also, for members of the public in attendance, please note that we have a constituent assistance team that includes representatives from the Department of Mental Health, Public Social Services, Children and Family Services, LA Homeless Services Authority, and Parks and Recreation in the audience, should you need assistance from them. At this time, we will hear from members of the public wishing to address the board on all items not held for discussion by supervisors, including closed session matters. The consent items will be acted upon with one motion. For members of the public joining us remotely to comment on these items, please use the raise hand feature if you're online or press star three if on the telephone. Please indicate the agenda item numbers that you wish to address in the beginning of your comment for us to allocate the appropriate amount of time.

We will now call in in-person speakers and while they're coming forward, we will take remote speakers. This will be for all items not held by the board for discussion and closed session items. Will the following individual please come forward and staff will assist you. Michelle Roser. Roy Humphreys, your line is open. Please state the agenda items you're addressing and begin.

Are you talking about Roy Humphreys?

Yes, go ahead.

Okay, as to item number 14, just as first witness, we need to cut staffing on all the Democrat supervisors putting up this garbage that in the 2026, if persons are so inept, they don't know how to conduct and establish their business. They shouldn't be in business. And this is because of the bloating of the bureaucracies of, and especially under Supervisor Solis and the Democrats, what they've done to this county. People need to get, we need to get the Democrats out, get business people in here. This is 2026. And again, if you don't know how to do this, at this point in time, we have to reinvent the wheel. We need a big change and it's from the inside out. Thank you.

Thank you. Chris Carter, your line is open. Please state the agenda items you're addressing and begin.

Carter. Hello?

Yes, go ahead.

Okay. Hello, my name is Chris Carter with the LA Regional Food Bank. I'm speaking on item number 12. As a result of HR1, Medi-Cal and CalFresh beneficiaries risk losing access to essential health benefits and food assistance. Now more than ever, we need expanded partnerships to support the county's most vulnerable communities. Partnership agreements between DPSS and community organizations are critical to enhancing collaboration. They support outreach efforts, leverage community expertise, and help Medi-Cal and CalFresh beneficiaries keep their benefits. We respectfully urge the board to pass this motion. Thank you.

Thank you. Caller with phone number 626-696, your line is open. Please state your name, the agenda items you're addressing, and begin.

Good morning, I'm Carla Romero with LA Care and I appreciate the opportunity to provide public comment and strong support of item number 12, Supervisor Solis' motion to identify partnerships and efficiencies through delegation of authority of non-financial agreements. First and foremost, I want to thank Supervisor Solis for this motion and for championing this initiative. In light of HR1, many Medi-Cal beneficiaries are facing the possibility of losing access to essential health benefits. Now more than ever, it is crucial that we expand partnerships to support the county's most vulnerable communities. Data sharing agreements between DPSS and community organizations play a vital role in enhancing collaboration. These partnerships will strengthen outreach efforts, leverage the unique expertise of community partners, and ultimately support Medi-Cal and CalFresh beneficiaries in maintaining their benefits. Through supporting these partnerships and agreements, we can more effectively safeguard access to the health and food resources that our communities depend on. We respectfully urge the board to pass this motion.

Thank you. Caller with phone number 626-824, your line is open. Please state the agenda items you're addressing and begin.

hello and good morning my name is lauren james i'm the regional chamber of commerce board president and i'm calling in support of item 14. i would like to thank supervisor solis as always for meeting the moment by working to address the systemic issues that makes it harder for businesses to get started in the county the current licensing program is straightforward to apply for but it offers nothing more The county could best service new businesses by ensuring thorough education around required permits being provided from the beginning when a business applies for a license, and the same service provides funding opportunities to help a business grow. This motion is a great step forward to providing the support local businesses and local economy need to thrive. We've seen women leave the workplace since 2020 in droves. And up to the hundreds of thousands, they're starting their own careers. They need, I know working with our members, they need the support. They need the licensing help. There's a lot of permits. There's a lot that goes into opening a new business that people are not aware of. So I vote yes. Thank you.

Paloma Bustos, your line is open. Please state the agenda items you're addressing and begin.

Thank you, Supervisor Solis, for the recognition of Elder Abuse Awareness Month. In my previous role as a social service provider, I worked with three elderly siblings who were victims of human trafficking. Although we made repeated attempts to connect them to services, they were not able to access the support they needed. As a result, they fell behind on their rent, were evicted, and became homeless. All three siblings lived in a car while we worked to help them find stable housing. Eventually, they were able to secure housing through a housing program, but delays in accessing housing resources, including their Section 8 voucher, contributed to the time they spent unhoused. I encourage the county to continue investing in housing benefits and supportive services for older adults. This recognition must be more than a proclamation. It must be followed by action. No older adult should be left living in a car or on the streets after experiencing abuse. Thank you.

Thank you. Madam Chair, there are no other remote speakers to address the board. Remote participation for these items is now concluded. We will go to our in-person speaker. Please begin.

Good morning, supervisors. My name is Michelle Edith Rosser, a.k.a. Michelle Edith Walker from District 2.

Can you speak into the mic, ma'am? Just pull it closer to you.

I am here for KCK. 97904C, heard by Judge Ahmed Safran in Department 404 at Edmund D. Edelman Children's Court.

Ma'am, ma'am, this would be appropriate for general public comments. We'll take that up later on in the meeting.

Can I finish?

This is comment from items not held by the supervisor. So this would be general public comment. Thank you.

still have an opportunity to speak, but after we go through our hearings, okay?

So you guys are gonna call my name again? Yes, yeah, you're welcome, thank you.

That concludes the time for public comment on these items.

Okay, very good. With that, these items, I'm sorry?

I can read the items for approval.

Go ahead.

MADAM CHAIR, THE FOLLOWING ITEMS ARE BEFORE YOU, 2 THROUGH 9, 11 AND 12, 14 AND 15, 18 THROUGH 36, 38, 40 WITH SUPERVISOR MITCHELL RECUSING FROM THE VOTE, 41 THROUGH 62, 64 THROUGH 80, 81A, 1D THROUGH 4D, 1P, AND THEN PLEASE NOTE WE WILL TAKE A SEPARATE VOTE ON ITEM 84. THESE ITEMS ARE BEFORE YOU.

Thank you. Moved by Supervisor Mitchell, seconded by Supervisor Hahn to approve the items, with the exceptions noted by the Executive Officer. Please call the roll.

Supervisor Mitchell?

Aye.

Supervisor Mitchell, aye. Supervisor Hahn?

Aye.

Supervisor Hahn, aye. Supervisor Barger?

Aye.

Supervisor Barger, aye. Supervisor Solis?

Aye.

Supervisor Solis, aye. Motion carries. We will now vote on a separate matter item, item 84, which is before you.

Moved by Supervisor Barger, seconded by Supervisor Han. To approve the item, Executive Officer, call the roll.

Supervisor Mitchell?

Aye.

Supervisor Mitchell, aye. Supervisor Han? Aye. Supervisor Han, aye. Supervisor Barger?

Aye.

Supervisor Barger, aye. Supervisor Solis?

Aye.

Supervisor Solis, aye. Motion carries four to zero. We will now move on to set matter one, report by the chief executive officer on the county's budget, including the latest federal and state policy changes with potential impacts to county staff, contractor providers, and service delivery, which was held for report. For members of the public joining us remotely to comment on this item, please use the raise hand feature if you're online or press star three if on the telephone. Joseph Nikita, Chief Executive Officer, will make a presentation. For the departmental speaker, please state your name and title for the record when you address the board.

Thank you.

All right. Good morning, Madam Chair, members of the board. We have a short PowerPoint that will be coming up in a second. I will introduce it. So during today's set matter, I wanted to spend a few minutes updating your board and the public on spending trends in the current fiscal year, 25-26. This will include our projections of year-end closing balances, as well as an update on our work to reexamine our revenues and our costs. As you all know, next Monday, June 22nd, I'll be presenting the final changes budget recommendations. Although I will not be covering any of those recommendations in today's presentation, you'll have to wait in suspense until Monday, how we close the budget in the current fiscal year affects our ability to fund programs next fiscal year. So I will explain this connection further along in the presentation. Finally, yesterday the state legislature adopted their proposed budget, which must be negotiated with the governor and adopted later this month. We will provide your board and the public with a short update on items of interest to the county in the legislature's budget. I will take the next slide. Okay, as you know, the county continues to operate in a constrained fiscal environment. Demand for services is growing as federal and state investments slow or stop altogether. Federal rule changes to Medicaid and SNAP under the big bill, HR1, will have an even greater impact on the county in the coming fiscal year as more residents lose access to CalFresh food benefits and Medi-Cal funded healthcare. One of our greatest challenges over the last year, and you all know this, has been operating in an environment of unprecedented uncertainty. The federal government has cut funding without notice and issued executive orders and regulatory changes without sufficient detail to fully understand the impact until agency instructions are rolled out months later. And even though we're coming up on the anniversary of H.R. 1, the agency rulemaking to fully implement the bill continues. Not all of the details are fully spelled out at this point in time. In this context, we're forced to continue to focus on financial stability and taking a long view. And even giving new funding sources like Measure ER, the year ahead will require financial discipline to prioritize critical safety net services over less immediate needs. I'll take the next slide. Supervisors, this is slide three. This will be the heart of my presentation today before we talk about the state budget. I want to quickly review our projections for year-end closing fund balance. So as I mentioned at the top, how we close the fiscal year affects what funding is available to pay for costs and services in next fiscal year's budget. Excess fund balance is the primary source of available one-time funding in the subsequent fiscal year. So I want to take a deeper dive on this chart and these numbers on the slide. So several times a year, departments submit a budget status report to my office that details their actual spending thus far in the fiscal year, as well as their projected future spending for the rest of the fiscal year. Departments submit these reports after the fifth, ninth, and eleventh months of the fiscal year. And we consolidate these reports into a global county budget status report, which is typically complete about one and a half to two months after the reporting period ends. So what you see on this table is a comparison between the county's fifth month budget status report from November 2025 and our ninth month report from March 2026. Estimated year-end fund balance, that is the first line at the top of the chart, That projects how much locally generated revenue will be unspent during the current fiscal year and available to spend in the subsequent year. This is shown in the top row of the chart. As you can see, we are projecting a substantial amount of excess fund balance, as we always do. In this case, over $3.2 billion at the end of the fiscal year. The next two lines, the next two rows, indicate plans to spend that fund balance. So carryover, that's the second line down. Carryover reflects funding that will be budgeted next fiscal year for the same purpose for which it was allocated in the current year. So a good example of that would be funding set aside for capital construction that is underway but not complete. We typically would recommend that that funding be carried over to the next fiscal year for the same purpose so that construction can continue. Fund balance requirements represent, and that's the third line, fund balance requirements represent recommendations to budget excess fund balance for new or different programs, services, and other county needs. So carryover is carrying over for the same purpose, and fund balance requirements is we are using one-time money that we're recommending for a new purpose. For fiscal year 26-27, this is just a reminder, we are requiring at least $300 million in fund balance to finance our AB 218 settlement obligations. So if you look at that third line, November was 425 million, March is 680 million, 300 million of each of those lines is off the top for our AB 218 obligations. Looking closer at the chart, you'll see that our carryover and fund balance requirements combined exceed our projected year-end fund balance as of the ninth month. So we will not close with a deficit in fund balance, but we have projected to spend more fund balance than we may have available at the end of the fiscal year. And if nothing else changes, we won't have sufficient fund balance to pay for our projected commitments. And if that were to happen, we would have to work with your board to reduce carry over and fund balance requirements to an amount equal to our year end fund balance. That would likely result in the discontinuation of funding for programs, services, and projects that are funded with one time dollars and an inability to finance some new expanded needs. Now, fortunately, there's a bit of a silver lining here. We typically do see our estimated year-end fund balance grow as we approach the close of the fiscal year and our projecteds turn into actuals. There's a lot of projections about what will be spent that don't come to fruition and that money becomes excess fund balance. We see that every year. This year, we're keeping a close eye on two atypical factors, though. And the first factor is that we have more budget units than usual projecting year-end deficits. We have, as of the ninth month, projecting a sheriff's department deficit of $148 million and a public health department deficit of $30.6 million. Both departments are working to reduce that amount, but any deficit in any department will reduce the year-end fund balance because we need to close the operating gap in those departments before we allocate any of the fund balance. The other atypical factor is that we saw no growth in fund balance between the fifth and the ninth month. So this is the top row of the chart. You see an estimated year in fund balance for November was 3.27 billion, and it was virtually unchanged in March. We generally see steady growth in estimated fund balance between each reporting period. So this is a bit of an aberration for our projection, so we're keeping a close eye on it. I think the big takeaway here is that we are in a cautious watch and see approach. It's not a time to panic, but we have talked about constraints on locally generated revenue and state funding. We also must be cognizant of constraints on fund balance that may drive difficult decisions about how to invest limited one-time resources in the coming year. Decisions about how to program fund balance will be before your board during the supplemental budget phase later this year. I'll take the next slide. A very quick summary of our efforts to stabilize the budget. As you know, we've been coordinating an all-hands approach to financial sustainability, convening department heads to brainstorm ideas for increasing revenues, cutting costs, and reallocating resources. Four work groups have been established to move these efforts forward. The central agency billing optimization. We talk about fee rationalization, which really means charging fees that actually offset the county's cost to provide the service. civil service reforms, and naming rights. The greatest near-term potential lies in efficiency improvements, and central billing is an area where a majority of department heads see room for operational and administrative improvements. And just for the public's benefits, central billing includes departments that bill services to other departments. That includes my office, our internal services department, our human resources department, auditor controller, and county council. Reducing those costs that we bill other departments will make more funding available for service delivery Another opportunity is right-sizing County fees to fully cover our cost of services We provide many no cost services to the public such as public hospital care and support and applying for safety net benefits But other services like inspections or issuing permits or licenses carry a fee that is meant to cover the cost of the county's work many departments are absorbing a significant portion of these costs and because fee revenue is insufficient and that eats away at their ability to provide services. The goal is to set a protocol for all fees that strikes a reasonable balance and allows for gradual fee increases over time. This will avoid huge jumps in fees from year to year, which we've seen happen when fees do not keep up with cost increases. Other moves towards financial stability will be more Difficult and take longer to achieve but we're actively working on all of these solutions I want to flag one important longer-term goal civil service reform as a change that will be critical to the county's financial future The Department of Human Resources presented earlier this month on new reforms to hiring practices that modernize recruiting to expand the possible pool of applicants to county jobs and expedite hiring and onboarding This is an important first step but reforms to disciplinary practices are also essential to ensuring the county can attract and retain the best available, most productive workforce. This task force of department heads is well underway, and we hope to be making progress on this in the current calendar year. I will take the next slide. This slide is a little bare bones. We didn't have information on the legislature's budget at the time of posting it, but I am joined by Angela Ovalle, our acting branch manager over legislative affairs, to provide a quick update on what the legislature's budget has in it of interest to the county.

Thanks, Joe, and good morning, supervisors. Yesterday, the legislature approved its constitutionally required budget bill, AB 109. The top line is that the legislature's budget package generally moved closer to LA County's priorities than what we saw in the governor's May revision. While yesterday's passage represents a major milestone in the budget process, negotiations with the governor will continue through June 30th and likely beyond as trailer bills and implementation details are finalized. The state budget was developed against a backdrop of significant financial uncertainty and amid significant needs statewide. While state revenues have improved compared to earlier projections, counties will continue to face potential fiscal impacts associated with federal actions, particularly HR1 and its effects on Medi-Cal, CalFresh, behavioral health, and other safety net programs. The legislative budget reflects an effort to balance near-term fiscal stability with preparation for future federal funding reductions, and increased administrative workload at both the state and local levels. Since HR 1 was approved in July 2025, Legislative Affairs has worked closely with county departments to identify operational, fiscal, and policy impacts and develop a coordinated advocacy strategy. Legislative Affairs has been in close contact with the LA County delegation, legislative leadership, budget committee staff, statewide associations, and the governor's office throughout the budget process to ensure policymakers understand the impacts of federal changes on county operations and our local residents. One of the county's highest priorities was protecting California's healthcare safety net and public hospital system as federal changes threatened to increase uncompensated care and strain safety net providers. The good news is the legislature approved $250 million in state general fund support for California's public hospitals. The legislature's budget also provides $429 million to support increased county workload for Medi-Cal and CalFresh due to requirements of HR1. The governor's January budget proposal proposed making community-based mobile crisis intervention services a county optional benefit. LA County and counties across the state raised concerns that this approach would create service gaps and shift fiscal costs to local governments. As a result of that advocacy, the legislature included $125 million to support the non-federal share of mobile crisis services and an additional $20 million for 988 crisis centers. The legislature also maintained $113.3 million for critical public health information technology systems statewide, And in regards to funding for homelessness programs and services, the legislature ultimately approved $900 million for the HAP program, which reflects a $400 million increase to the governor's proposal. One of the most significant fiscal threats to counties was the governor's proposal to shift future growth in IHSS hours per case cost to counties beginning in fiscal year 27-28. The legislature fully rejected that proposal, preventing a significant future cost shift to counties and preserving the longstanding state-county partnership for IHSS. The legislature also rejected the governor's proposal to automatically terminate IHSS services when Medi-Cal eligibility is discontinued and instead directed efforts towards improving retention of eligible beneficiaries. In addition, the legislature rejected the May revision proposal to reduce Adult Protective Services funding by reverting eligibility from age 60 back to age 65, preserving services for vulnerable older adults. A few other items approved in the legislature's budget of interest include $45 million for prevention-focused child welfare efforts, $50 million in one-time funding for Proposition 36 implementation, and an additional $25 million for VOCA grant program for a total of $50 million. While the legislature's budget reflects many county priorities, as previously mentioned, negotiations will continue with the governor on items of disagreement over the next couple of weeks. And the governor has to pass a balanced budget, so approval of the increased spending proposed by the legislature will likely be tied to whether he approves the legislature's new revenue solutions. And while we don't know what, if any future changes might be made, or if the governor will veto the legislature's budget and ask them to come back with a different proposal, we do anticipate that the three parties will come to some sort of an agreement by June 30th. Next slide, please.

Supervisor, I just want to lift up what we see as a lot of positive movement in the legislature's budget. There were key provisions in there that provide substantial support to counties, so we're optimistic that the negotiations that will happen over the coming days will yield a budget that is favorable to our ability to continue to maintain many of our core services. I want to uplift again the IHSS cost shift issue, which could be substantially costly to counties across the state. There was a big mobilization effort by CSAC and counties to ask the legislature to reject that proposal, and they did. So we hope that that sticks as the negotiations are underway with the governor later this month. Just to close out this presentation, as I mentioned before, our final changes budget is scheduled for Monday next week. I can share that there will be no new property tax revenue to allocate. Our projections have not changed since the recommended budget. Sometimes it changes slightly and we see some additional ongoing revenue that is not happening in final changes. There will be some new federal and state funding included, but given the lack of projected fund balance and other new revenues, there will be very little in the way of new county funded investments. Again, our focus is on preservation of those critical programs. while we are in difficult financial constraints. Following final changes, we will move on to supplemental budget in September, the last of the three county budget phases To inform the set of recommendations and supplemental, we'll be closely monitoring the state budget, the implementation of federal rule changes, and making adjustments based on the auditor controller's year-end closing numbers and factoring in revenues that will flow to the county from Measure E. Laird will continue to work with county departments to review budget trailer bills as they come through. We will engage with Sacramento and the Department of Finance as necessary to advance the county's priorities in the coming weeks. As always, we will be working closely with the board to be sure we have a clear understanding of your priorities. With limited resources, we're focused on preserving safety net programs, as I said, until we can once again invest in expanded programs and services. And that concludes the presentation. Happy to turn it back over to you, Madam Chair.

Thank you. Yes, we're going to start with the fifth, the fourth, the second, and then come to me last. Thank you.

Go ahead. Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you, Joe. I mean, I think that's a sobering report. Good news and bad news. The silver linings don't outweigh the serious decisions this board's going to have to make. But I appreciate the work that you and your team have done to really try to capture in real time what's going on. And I appreciate that the body's presentation began with a focus on financial sustainability. I know that we've kept our credit rating at the level it is. And thank you, Madam Chair, as leader this year. I think it's important for us to note that in order for us to maintain that, we have to show the fact that we are going to be responsible and acknowledge and live within our means, if you will. As the safety net for 10 million residents of Los Angeles, anything we do budgetarily needs to be sustainable. Many of the items you covered in your presentation are forward-looking. and are going to help the county in future years, such as exploring the county's central billing systems and our current fee structures, many of which are outdated and have not been updated with CPI growth and other cost of living adjustments. Although I want to be very cautious about how we go about doing that, recognizing that much of this will fall on small businesses, on small restaurants, and it's important for us to be responsible and recognize that they too are struggling. So it's important to have an even hand on that. Moving forward with the hard hiring and purchasing freeze was important to provide additional immediate relief. And I understand the CEO's projection to maintain the hiring freeze throughout the fiscal year. These are cost savings measures, and I know that none of us want to see, let alone approve. We continue to be faced with fiscal constraints brought on by massive legal settlements federal funding cuts, and stagnant county tax-based growth. These ongoing pressures mean we must move forward with difficult decisions. Steering the county out of the fiscal crisis is going to take collaboration, compromise, and actually sacrifice at times. I'd like to ask you, Joe, some questions. You talk about the governor, I mean, it's gone to the governor now, the budget. Last night, the legislature passed tax increases on insurance, digital software, and payroll taxes. I'm assuming the payroll taxes will not impact government, or will they? I mean, are these taxes going to help us, or are they going to be a wash?

So, Supervisor, we can provide a more specific analysis, but As we understand it today, and we're working with our departments to quantify these impacts, but as we understand it today, the concern is that the costs to the county to comply with the requirements of the new tax and to pay the new tax would actually substantially eat into the revenue we would receive and possibly eclipse it. So it's something that we're looking at very closely to make sure that we're not taking on more liability than what the revenue is supposed to generate. So that is an issue. It's been an issue, that CSAC flag that other counties are looking at. And there's a coalition of public entities asking for an exemption to that. And I think we join in that to see if we can be exempt from paying the tax so that the revenue actually is a net positive. Is the private sector going to have an opportunity to request an exemption as well? Well, there is a strong advocacy from the private sector to eliminate this provision from the budget.

And how long has this been in the works? Do you know, Angela? On the software sales tax? Yeah. Well, I know the software sales tax has been talked about, but like payroll taxes, which surprised me, and insurance. Has this been something that's been brewing up in Sacramento?

I know for the penalty for employers whose employees don't have employer-funded health care and are Medi-Cal, that's something that's been tried several times, I think going back to 2015. So it's something that's been bouncing around. I think it got a little more currency this year given the situation with Medi-Cal costs. In terms of the software tax, I don't know how long that's been bouncing around or some of these other issues.

Okay, thank you. And then, Joe, you talk on the civil service reform, something we've talked about at this board. Can you elaborate on why that is considered essential to service efficiency and what fiscal benefits it's going to have to the county with any potential reforms?

Yeah, thank you for the question. One of the challenges that we face with civil service is that these rules are quite aged. I mean, they're going on, in some cases, 30, 40 years, and they don't match our current operational model. They don't reflect new technology. A common complaint from departments is that things are too slow and costly and the costs are twofold one is just the cost of, for example, take the sheriff's department. If they have a need to fill vacancies urgently, but the civil service reforms require a lengthy process there's a mismatch in the operational need and that that will drive overtime costs. There's also the cost of just managing to the civil service rules themselves. Large cadres of human resources professionals that are working just to comply with the rules. Discipline is another big issue. I know this is something that we will need to speak very, work very closely with our labor partners on. To have a productive workforce, you need to have an effective disciplinary system in place. And then return to work and some of the other things that we always face as a barrier to operations in general and things that drive costs, those are embedded in civil service. So really what we're looking at is a comprehensive view of it. And I will acknowledge that each of our department heads as we form this committee have a different understanding of what reform means in a way that would be helpful. That is driven in large part by what is their challenge. And different departments have different challenges. But each of those challenges, as you wrap it into a global look at the civil service reforms, I think would be very useful in helping us modernize our civil service practices. And our biggest asset is labor, is our employees. but they're also our biggest cost. And so we need to be mindful of things that unnecessarily drive up those costs.

Yeah, and we have to be mindful of the fact that, for example, on the hiring, that's put in place to make sure that favoritism is not given and that there's a fair process that is transparent. So I hope we can meet that balance in terms of getting that done. And then you talked about the Sheriff's Department. And I'll just say that the $140 million deficit, it sounds to me like similar to health services. This is a structural deficit because it continues to grow. And some of that is fixed costs. So how are we going to address that issue? Because when I look at their budget, There's not a lot of fat as it relates to money that can be taken away because it's fixed costs for staffing.

Yeah, when we think about the cost drivers of the Sheriff's Department of their deficit, we're looking at overtime, especially in the jail. I mean, these are post positions. They have to fill them. And because they have an excessive amount of vacancies, they're running a lot of overtime. We'll look at workers' comp. I mean, it's a dangerous job. and people get hurt on the job. But there are also state laws that allow a lot of extended leave on workers' comp. We have the 4850 benefits, which is a year-long leave with full pay and benefits and tax-free. And that is an issue not just for our Sheriff's Department, but every public safety entity in the state. And then we look at liability claims. These are uses of force, they're auto accidents, you know, etc., etc., etc., Those are the major drivers of the deficit. I think when we look at strategies, number one for overtime is filling vacancies, and I know the Sheriff's Department has done a really good job to try to bring more people into the department. They have a big outreach campaign and recruitment strategy underway. They're looking at civilianization, so this will be moving forward. Post-certified individuals who are in an administrative job that can be filled by a civilian back into a post position so that it reduces some of the strain on the overtime needs. Return to work is a big deal. The sheriff actually has a really good return to work program, and it's something that our CEO risk management works closely with them on, but that's a priority just to get people back on the job again. to reduce the workers' comp costs and to reduce that overtime. Liability claims are trending down in use of force, but they're trending up in auto and some of the other areas, so it's a bit of a wash. This is a priority for CO risk management. I've asked Destiny Castro, who leads that team, to lean in on liability claims for the sheriff going forward. And then general cost reduction supervisor, you know, the sheriff has... We've been working closely with their team. They've reduced some non-mandated OT. They've deferred services and supplies purchases, and they're deferring non-emergency maintenance to bring that deficit into more alignment. But, Supervisor, we see a deficit year over year. If you bake liability claims into their baseline, then yes, it's a structural deficit. If your expectation is that they will reduce those liability claims, we get closer. Overtime remains a challenge because of the vacancies.

when you talk about workman's comp and not for today, but I would like to track because I've heard complaints about from employees that actually want to come back to work, that it takes forever to get approvals on medical so that they can go to a doctor and get clearance. So I hope we are looking at it from our standpoint, too, because we hire a company to do that. And I can pull our records, but we get calls, believe it or not, from employees who are complaining about the fact that they can't get authorization to get a doctor. It takes months, and then the follow-up. And so I would hope that we are tracking what we need to do to address that issue. And then on the IHSS, and this is my last comment, I know that they reinstated it, and I know you don't have a crystal ball, but the governor wants to have a balanced budget for moving out. And do we have any... Intel in terms of what is going to stay in and what is going to be pulled out of the budget that's been submitted to him?

That's my last question. Yeah, we don't have any specific Intel at this time, but we are plugged into the conversations and hope to learn more about it. I will say that the governor, the IHSS cost shift was expected to save the state $233 million next fiscal year and $800 million the following year. It's not the biggest cost saver that they've tried to push forward, but it is a really expensive program overall, and it grows. That's the same for us as well And so when I when I think about we have had an MOE with the state for many years to me This is a very would be a very difficult thing to shift down to the counties because these costs would be extraordinary And so I'm hopeful that this one will Will not be one of the revenue strategies that move forward, but we're gonna keep a very close eye on it and supervisor before before before I hand it back to the chair I just want to say, because you mentioned something at the top about our ratings, and I want to praise the team that went to New York, our treasurer and tax collector, auditor controller, and our director of health services for their work on it. I will say that this board has made some hard decisions. and has actually done something that a lot of agencies don't do, and that is you've cut your budget to pay for future liabilities. That's both on increasing labor costs and our AB 218 liability costs. That was a hard thing to do. That was an 8.5% cut in the current fiscal year, And it's created some issues, and I know you've all heard from your constituents about it. That was a very important part of our discussion with the ratings agencies in New York is how is the, I know the county has more costs, but how are you planning to pay those costs? And the ratings agencies and our office would be concerned about not planning to pay for them is going to balloon liability over time until you get to a point where you're just Your house of cards falls down and you're in a massive financial hole. And so I want to praise the board for those difficult decisions that you all made in the current year. And it was recognized in New York as well.

Thank you. Thank you. Go ahead, Supervisor Hahn.

Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you, Joe. Yeah, very sobering this year. Your presentation is extremely sobering, even touching on things like... you know, deficit, which we haven't really heard before in a budget presentation. So we know you're going to work through that and you plan to close the gap by the time we have the final, but still just even read that or hear that was very sobering. Your term, maximum uncertainty, really does capture where we are right now. And as a county, but obviously in our relationship with the state and the federal government, it's clear that the factors leading to that uncertainty will continue, at least in the short term. And I really appreciate all of us. And thank you for telling us that because we have had some hard decisions that we've had to make. But overall, we've leaned into our greatest asset, which is our workers. And our labor agreements were important. And we believed in them. And we believe in them, particularly as it relates to how we deliver services to our constituents, as well as preparing for some of the big events that will be happening. We're in the midst of one right now with the World Cup, but just all that, and we really did lean into our workforce, and we would be nothing without our workforce, but it did cause us to have to make some some cuts elsewhere. And yeah, big shout out to our state legislature, because it was shocking when I first read that the governor had pulled IHSS and was planning on giving it back 100% to the counties. And I knew that that was just not sustainable. So thank you to our state legislature for disagreeing with that. And a couple of other things they pushed back on the governor on. because they know it would not be sustainable at the local level, and I appreciate them. And I will echo what Supervisor Barger talked about. know recouping our cost of services but since they haven't been raised in so long some of these fees um it might be difficult to just immediately uh raise them with our departments with our contract cities and everybody's going through a hard time so i hope we can phase in uh some of those as we look to to continue to balance our budget um you talked um Just a tad, I mean, we need to hear more about our possible revenue generating ideas, because it's hard to just talk about where we're spending and the deficit and all of our obligations, our lawsuits. What do you think are our biggest opportunities going forward for revenue generating?

what I think briefly talked about was our naming rights policy. That is one opportunity. That will, I think, be a benefit to departments going forward. I don't see that as really allowing us to restructure our budget on the back of naming rights. We really have, because the county is, you know, we have limited opportunities to generate revenue. So one of the biggest opportunities we have is our real estate assets. And so There are a couple of things we can do. We can activate certain assets to make them revenue generating. That's one opportunity. Our asset manager is looking at that as well. We can sell them. We can sell these assets that we don't need that are surplus and generate one-time dollars. As you know, in our environment, because we are scheduled to borrow a lot of money to pay for AB 218, generating one-time dollars to buy down that debt allows us to free up some of the ongoing money that we have on the schedule for AB 218. Those are two ideas. I think we're trying to be creative. I think we are also trying to avoid risks that come along with being too creative, and so we're trying to strike the right balance. I think One of the issues we would have if we activated space for revenue generating is, you know, we would now become a landlord of commercial activities. Let's say there's, you know, you can picture the beach and along the beach you have vendors, if you will. There's issues that come with that. So I think we need to be cautious but creative.

Right. And, you know, I think those are good ideas. I think it would be a value to this board for sooner than later to come back with, you know, some of those concrete ideas or Give us a list of the assets that you're even thinking about selling but particularly the naming rights I mean, I think there's a real opportunity there, but we have seen some other agencies stumble With that idea. I know we sit on Metro and You know there you know there was a lot of debate about the corporate sponsors that we would be willing to let have their name rise above stations. And as you know, there was an issue with the LAX metro station and the board pulled back quickly when we were uncomfortable with the naming rights there. So how soon should we be looking at, and I think we would like to be involved in the policy of naming rights for county assets. I mean, I think we would probably have a lot to say and, how we believe it should reflect our values as a county and a board but i do feel like that's going in the right direction in terms of generating revenue but i really feel like before we stumble and and you know make some mistakes we probably need a pretty good policy a written policy on on how we believe in that and then it kind of frees you up to then say you know, seek some of those sponsorships. But we got to get it right, is what I'm saying. Can I respond to that real quick?

So just so everyone's clear on the next steps for those working groups, including Name Me Right. So those working groups are moving forward now. There's some colleagues here that are part of these working groups who are working hard to get them done. The next step would be to have those committees of department heads come to the board and present their recommendations on next steps. And so for the naming rights policy, what I'm envisioning is a countywide policy that the board adopts that departments can tear off for their specific, you know, if they have, you know, I'll give an example. So the department, the county would adopt a countywide policy, your board would adopt it. And then a department like library using that policy could generate a department specific policy, entirely consistent, but they might have different needs than, say, animal care. So they might have policies on naming a reading room or a building. or book or whatever it is. And so everything would flow from your board's policy.

And so as we come back with recommendations, you would definitely have the opportunity to inform how that- Is there a in between where you could hear from board offices before it actually appears before us? Because again, I do think, we certainly have a perspective about what it means. It might be different, but I would think that you should engage our offices. Maybe one of our deputies could be in one of these working groups. I just feel like that might be more beneficial, getting our thoughts as you move forward, as opposed to just having it appear to it.

We can do that. We can have a presentation to your collective staff on what's going on and take their feedback before anything's finalized.

Yeah, I think that would be helpful. And Joe, what's in this budget that would keep pointing the pathway towards closing the Men's Central Jail? What can we look at or share with the public that we're We're still on that pathway. Here's the money set aside.

Yeah, so we have... So our jail closure implementation team is working on a report. Now, they've done a first report. They've done a series of reports. I'll say the last report they've done was the first effort to identify what are called the required actions to close the jail. And there was, I believe, seven of them. And they've costed out some of that Is any of that in this budget? Some of that is already baked into the budget. These are programs that are ongoing or there's funding that we can use from obligated fund balances to help keep them going. I think the real challenge is going to be expansion. And so as we look at what is going to be our opportunity.

What do you mean by expansion?

So if you have a set amount of programs, let's say you have the seven required actions that are operating at 30% level, and the report identifies the need to ramp them up to 100%, there's going to be that delta.

just think it's important that we continue as we've all said the budget is a document of you know our values it's also a blueprint for how we behave for the next year and i just think it's important uh for the public to know that we've you know we've got some money behind where our mouths are in terms of our commitment um to closing the jail yeah the budget which will

come before you, final changes on Monday, preserves that funding. Now the ability to expand is very constrained. So you'll see we have less than $15 million that is going back into the budget in final changes. So you're looking at supplemental to see other revenue sources like AB 109 and things of that nature that can help us build on that. But I do want to flag for the board, since we're having the conversation, The numbers are difficult. So what was projected in that report was a total cost of about $3 billion to implement the required actions and to replace some of the necessary facilities that really are not carceral but infrastructure. That is going to be a journey to ramp up. And what is coming next is an analysis of assuming perfect implementation, 100% funding, where does that leave the jail population in five years? So that analysis is what's coming next. Then we'll have a full understanding of what the investment would buy you as well.

Yeah. Okay, thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you for those questions. Supervisor Mitchell?

Thank you very much, Madam Chair, and thank you to our CEO for the presentation. Let me thank Lair. I know this has been a complex and complicated year. I know we worked hard to streamline our priorities to help you help us. And so I hope that was helpful, and I know that it was a challenging year even with that. I also want to publicly thank the LA County Caucus and its chairwoman, Assemblywoman Tina McKenna, who invited us to present before the County Caucus, invited the CEO to present, and really took our streamlined list of priorities to heart as the County Caucus. And I know the caucus has really stepped up and fought hard for LA County. And I know that has contributed to what we have seen come out of the legislature and the budget negotiations thus far. So I really appreciate that. Just to respond also to Supervisor Barger's desire to have a crystal ball, oh, if we could only have one. I think in your presentation you talked about the fact that the governor could return the budget in its entirety. That has been done before. But also, he has the blue pencil power, which means he can line item veto segments of the budget. He can't add to anything the legislature hasn't included, but he can certainly remove. And so I hope that you are right that the dollar amount, particularly for the IHSS element, is such that those resources could be found elsewhere in a budget of that size. So we will continue to cross our fingers and hold our breath over the next few days to see how that continues. I hear my colleague talk about revenue generating options, and those are always challenging. Some of the elements of the state budget include revenue generating, which are receiving pushback. So it's six in one hand, half dozen in the other. And none of them are perfect options, including our very own Measure ER, but clearly necessary from my perspective, given all that you shared here today. when Supervisor Hahn said this was her, she hadn't heard the word deficit, I'm like, I must be living in the Twilight Zone, because I feel like all I have heard is the word deficit. And so I acknowledge that really for the sake of the county's survival, that we have to continue to prioritize fiscal reality and that everyone needs to put their shoulder to the grindstone the board it has made and will continue to have to make tough decisions that means the departments have to make tough decisions and I agree with supervisor Han it's our employees who deliver the services that are the role of the county and they too will have to help us understand and make tough decisions if we're all going to survive the fiscal climate we are in and continue to be the safety net level of government that we are constitutionally bound to do and that our shared constituency expect of us. Again, all of us are gonna have to demonstrate that same level of understanding and commitment about our fiscal reality. Again, it's not reassuring to hear that we are continuing to face significant deficit despite the curtailments and other fiscally responsible actions that we've approved over the past two years. So to the CEO, you've explained several actions departments are considering to attempt to address their projected deficit. How certain or confident are you that these actions will eliminate the current deficit?

I don't think they will eliminate the operating deficits in the department, Supervisor. I think that it's likely that we will see the operating deficits reduced when we get to closing. Again, we typically see things get better as actuals come in and projections fall away. That is simply because, I'll give you an example. For liability claims, you might be projecting that certain cases will hit this fiscal year and they don't. That will, right off the top, let's say you're estimating 10 million, that will reduce your operating gap by 10 million. So we see a lot of those dynamics as we get to the 11th month, which is the end of May, and we're still analyzing that, and then as we close. I think we'll see it get better for Sheriff. I think for public health, they've been working really hard on reducing that deficit, so I'm optimistic it will get better. But I don't think those deficits are going to go away. So some element of our estimated year-end fund balance is taking into account the fact that we will have to cover year-end deficits in the departments. That's already baked into our projections. So we're looking to... Before we fund anything else, close the gap on those departments.

You mentioned two of the departments of which there are just a few others that appear on kind of the structural deficit list every year. Is there anything else we are or could be doing to ensure that those and other departments no longer experience this reoccurring annual deficit situation?

We see, where we see recurring deficits is certainly in the Sheriff's Department. And that's been a longstanding issue. We've had a budget mitigation strategy with the department for many years. I think that This sheriff's administration is taking it very seriously. I think some of the challenges they face are the unpredictability about liability claims, which is why I've asked Destiny Castro to lean in and really help us lead on the reduced liability. Overtime requires us to hire more sheriff's deputies, which again is a challenge. So there continues to be issues with the sheriff's department. I think that will likely extend into subsequent fiscal years. I think other departments, we don't typically see year-over-year deficits in other departments or budget units. We have a structural issue with the trial court budget that funds our obligations under state law for the superior court operations. But I'm looking at the list of departments that are projecting deficits, and some of these are small deficits I expect them to cover. We don't typically see these departments come in with deficits or deficit projections. I think what's happening is that because of the curtailments, this is a transitional year where departments are adjusting to operating with less, and some of them need to continue to recognize the despite their operational needs, they do need to take some steps to reduce their spend, this is across the board, and that requires hard decisions in the departments themselves. So these are the tail effects of our curtailments from the current year.

I appreciate that. To Supervisor Hahn's query about naming rights and really wanting to make sure we set a policy, I agree, but I don't think that we're starting kind of from zero. As I understand it, a couple of our departments who have foundations, I know the Library Foundation has, has a policy around naming that came up when someone in my district wanted a library name for them, and that's when I went and found out that they've got one. I carried a motion to generate revenue by using county property for hospitality and brand houses for the Olympics. And so that's been going well. And so I just want to make sure that we kind of look at some of the existing policies as we launch this conversation. I agree there should be kind of a consistent policy, but I don't think we're starting from nowhere. I think some of the county departments that have foundations may have existing policy, and that motion provided some clarity and guidance as well. So I just wanted to make sure that we include those current practices in our discussion about what we should consider going forward with regard to naming rights. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you. Sorry, and Sky Patrick is part of that working group as well. I don't have the complete list, but the departments that have facilities that are nameable, it might be parks and libraries and museums and things of that nature are taking part.

Thank you. A lot of good questions from my colleagues. And I also want to thank Claire. I want to thank you, CEO, and your budget team, as well as our bargaining units and our employees. And I also want to give a shout out to the folks that went up to Sacramento and also lobbied. I recall the in-home health care service groups spent a whole week up there during the time of our elections and didn't have time to talk to all of us, but were up there knocking on doors. And I think it They pounded enough pavement that it made a difference, at least with the delegations where it counts. So I want to give a shout out to them. But the more important part is whether these proposed budget augmentations from the legislature will stand. And that's where we still have to continue to put pressure wherever means we can. I know Laird knows that very well. But this is a time where we need to really weigh in. I'm really happy that our delegation, and as you said, Supervisor Mitchell, we had an opportunity to go up there, present, talk to the leadership, and discuss a variety of things where we knew HR1 was really gonna hit us really just severely, and we're still not out of the woods, but I would say that we have to do more of that and just be more interactive, and I'm glad that you, CEO, joined us in a lot of those meetings with leadership, and that was really critical, I thought. That really hadn't always been done. Sometimes you had departments that go up and lobby for themselves, and that's fine, but now we were coordinated, and that makes sense for us when we're in this deep-seated kind of challenge where we're all going to be hit pretty hard by the pending cuts that are still going to be on the table. And I just want to say that You know, HR1 is a big, bad, ugly bill. And it continues to be, not just for us, but around the county. And I think as more and more people understand that, what the implications are, the better off we're gonna be. So our messaging has to be really broad and diverse because there's still a lot of folks, as I recall, during this past election that didn't understand what that meant. Sometimes even the measure ER, folks were saying, well, you're gonna raise taxes And how are we gonna ensure that the money's gonna stay where it's intended? I know we had that discussion. But just the fact that people did not know that we were going to be hit so hard and explaining all of that. And I know some of our partners are doing that. I know some of our... They're doing that, but also some of the folks that we work with, like LA Care and other groups that are joining in with us in this battle and our federally qualified clinics. I have said over and over, they're also the backbone of our safety net. When we can't provide support out in the... in our regions because clinics are closing or there's enough staff, typically they will end up at the free clinic or the federally qualified clinic. And for me, that is really critical because we stand in partnership with them. They went through a whole lot. For me, they were first responders during COVID. And I hope that once we decide how that money's gonna be divvied up, where it goes, that we're also, and we'll be looking at that. So how we, again, use the safety lens, the equity lens, the diversity, inclusion ends, and where the proportions of populations are in need. So I think that's gonna require us to also be very careful with managing those dollars. I just wanna say that a lot more to do. A lot of people are still hungry. I'm glad to see that the legislature came together and wanted to put in 108 million for CalFresh, for CalFood, and that's really important, and also helping to provide support for indigent care for people who will lose their Medi-Cal coverage. 125 million is what I understand is going to be put back in. And then, of course, 250 million, as you said earlier, Angela, for public hospitals, and I know Dr. Galley and her team and others, including a lot of folks in the state county, were really pressing that hard. So kudos, kudos to you, but let's make sure the money stays in. And I do want to thank our treasurer and tax collector and auditor controller and DHS for going and representing us very well, as they always do, and really laying out what we're trying to do to mitigate before disaster occurs fiscally and then keeping to those promises because there's there's no doubt they watch every single move that we make and that's been said time and time again and they do and if we're if we're taking care of our house at home and that keeps our ratings low and we don't have to put money away for other things that are going to change the outlook of our fiscal viability, so to speak. So I hope we can continue to do that. But CEO, I wanted to ask you if you could explain to me where we really are with AB 218, because that's the heavy cloud, right? That's the anchor on our neck. And can you go over that and what you see moving forward? in terms of the, also in terms of the fraud that has been alleged, right?

Right, right. Happy to, Supervisor. Before I do that, I want to pick up on something you said at the top about the legislative advocacy and thank the board and all the board members who went and advocated directly. One of the things that we heard, and I think we heard it from the governor's office, was that it was extremely meaningful for the supervisors to do that advocacy directly. you really have the voice of the county when you come up to Sacramento and off to DC. So I wanna thank you for that. I thought that was very helpful. On AB 218, so there's a couple things going on. One is our existing caseload. So we have, as you know, two settlements that have been completed. Group A is a $4 billion settlement. Group B is an $800 million settlement for a total of $4.8 billion. And then we have a Group C. And Group C are new claims that are being brought at a clip of about 150 cases a month. The amount of cases, I'm going to get this wrong, I think it's around 6,000 new claims, but I might be a few hundred off. So this liability continues to weigh on us, continues to weigh on our projections, continues to weigh on our budget. I mentioned the need to plan financially and that being really meaningful, not just for the ratings agencies, but for our actual financial stability. We need to continue to do that. I am concerned about the district attorney's recent letter to us saying that he believed that there was 81% of these claims are fraudulent. We are not privy to the information he has that generated that estimate. He is acting in his capacity as a state prosecutor and a prosecutor on behalf of the people of the state, and he has made it clear that he has tools at his disposal that were not available to us. There is a hearing, I believe scheduled for next week, for the court to consider the DA's request to pause payments I think what Where I would have concerns is if if there are a substantial amount of Truly fraudulent claims in the mix that I would want to make sure our dollars are used to pay survivors and not those claims I think that has always been the county's priority And so we'll have to wait and see what the court does with the DA's requests in the coming days. I think that for us here at the CEO's office, we are really focused on a financial plan. We have to be able to survive the liability that these cases generate. I'm not even talking about Group C right now. I'm talking about Group A and Group B. We've committed to those settlements. I mentioned we need $300 million in fund balance to make our annual payment for Group A and Group B. So we are really, and I have the team behind me who's really, really focused on making sure that we can make good on those commitments. And so that's what's happening in the litigation in Sacramento. It remains one of our top priorities. We have SB 577, a bill that's pending. It's with the Assembly. I understand now that there are direct conversations between Assembly leadership and Senate leadership. Again, SB 577, in my mind, is not an anti-survivor bill. It's an anti-fraud bill. I have taken some time to talk to organizations that have advocated against the bill, just so they understand where we're coming from as a county, and they can hear it from me. They can ask me questions on what our objectives are, what our goals are, and what's happening in these cases, and so I've taken some time to have those conversations. I think they've been well received. I'm not saying I've changed anyone's mind, but I think an open dialogue with organizations that have the interest of survivors in mind is important because, again, what we're trying to do is not anti-survivor but anti-fraud. So those conversations in Sacramento continue to this day, and we're working really hard on some reform efforts.

And I commend you for that because I think we had a conversation about that. in my office at one point, and I thought it is a good idea for folks to understand really where our CEO is on these items, because it's a new take now, and taking advantage of that is really supportive and helpful, I think. I know that you mentioned already, we've already made some, not disposed, but dispersed funding, put it that way. We have already set aside amounts of money now to pay out these, claims, what is a process that it actually is available to the victims? Because I think people are confused about how that process works. And maybe Coco can weigh in here. Dawn?

Thank you, Supervisor. So the allocator has to go through and review all of the cases. There's many levels, as we have explained here previously. And once that process is continued, I mean, I'm sorry, concluded, the allocator will go through the process of determining the value of each case. If there's fraud by clearing convincing evidence, we can kick those claimants out. As we have reported previously, there's a process embedded in the settlement for fraud. And so those are the steps that are underway at the moment.

So as we're reading in the Times, right, LA Times, there was somebody interviewed that said, well, I'm going to die before I get my funds. So can you give a sense of what that timing may look like? Because we're going through the review process now, right? You don't?

I don't have a sense of when the claimants will actually get a check in the mail. That I do not have timing for, and I wouldn't want to speculate as to timing on that. Right, okay.

I guess we can talk offline about that. But in any event, I just want people to know, first and foremost, we do want to protect the victims. Obviously, there are some very valid, I'm sure there are, but also making sure that we're also as transparent as we can be in terms of how we're moving forward. I think we don't want people to speculate is I would hope we can avoid that. So that's really all I have to say. Again, thank you to everybody. Thank you to the board. This is another tight budget and we have, I'm crossing my fingers though. I'm hopeful as always, but I know it's gonna require a lot more than hope. It's gonna boots on the ground and talking to people and having those conversations. with folks in Sacramento as well as in Washington because we're also gonna be faced with some other things that we'll be talking about offline regarding HUD and LASA and all of that. So there are some big challenges before us.

Madam Chair, can I ask a question? You brought up the article and that's the line that you talked about where they said some of the victims will be dead before. Something that jumped out at me that concerns me, and I want to better understand it, is one of the victims said he said he's roughly $10,000 in loans would spiral into about $25,000 in debt. What does that mean? Because this is money that's being paid to victims. So are people taking out loans against?

Yeah, they're borrowing for future revenue.

And so, I mean, you know, again, I don't understand all this. I mean, I learned that actually there are people that invest in these law firms and make money off of investing in law firms on class action and suits like this. So I mean, there's a whole cottage industry out there. So now I'm learning there's a cottage industry that's loaning people, victims money. Is that regulated? I mean, are they getting charged interest? This whole thing, I mean, with all due respect, Reform is needed across the board because the only people that are benefiting are the lawyers who have made really their gravy train. And now we're finding out that banks or loan institutions, I bet they're not even banks, loan institutions are now stepping in and taking advantage of the situation. And so I want to better understand that as well. I mean, it's infuriating to me Because to your point, the legislation is not anti-victim. It is anti-fraud, but it's also about really addressing, in my opinion, unscrupulous individuals who are taking advantage of a situation. Thank you.

You know, Joe, I would think there might be a role for our consumer and business affairs in our and for our county council to look at what we can do to come up with some.

Our affirmative litigation is looking into this and we've actually filed an action.

But it'd be good to inform. individuals that are in this situation that we have a department, Consumer and Business Affairs, that might help to provide just assistance in terms of when there's likely fraud in these kinds of instances. I'm sure there's groups out there, non-profits and folks that are on the side of the consumers that would work with us, but I think that this is a new level of value, obviously, and it's at our expense. And other public entities, school districts too, and other smaller counties, Ventura, I mean, we heard it. So we need to come back with something, I think.

Yeah, we worked, Supervisor, you'll remember this, but we worked on a bill that ended up becoming law to cap these short-term installment loans. I think we capped it at, I think the state capped it at 36%. We'd have to look and see if maybe there's companies that are charging more than that. There's also factoring companies. Remember the J.G. Wentworth song? Remember that commercial? So it's a landscape of different interests who are now involved. And really, we'd have to come back with some additional information, and I'm sure we can do that in the future.

Thank you. Thank you to my colleagues. And with that, Executive Officer, I believe we go to public comment.

Will the following individuals please come forward and staff will assist you. Maya Daniels, Shannon Axe, Pamela Mayera, Loretta Lorraine, Ayana Dykes, D.R. Chavez, Vanessa Perez, Elliot N., Anthony Arenas, Ray Tapia, and Rogelio Martinez. As a final reminder for remote participants, to be placed in the speaking queue to address item set matter one, if you have not already done so, use the raise hand feature on your device or press star three on your telephone now. Byron, your line is open. Please begin.

Good morning. This is Byron Jose with the Trans Latina Coalition. We would love to see Joe's take on this cost saving for departments actually modeled with the shared department and probation department, especially when they continue to take the biggest cost of being the biggest cost around litigation and settlements. So again, we would love to see that instead of them continue to get funding time and time again. The AB 218 discussion always comes out around how to limit that cost, but that never seems to be any, internal reflection around what the county, what your board can do to truly mitigate the problem and attack it at its roots, right? There's no consensus around like all these vacant positions at both probation and the sheriff's department and how they continue to not meet any of their audits, have no way to transparency or really what are their dollars being used other than to criminalize their people. We need TGI investments now. Thank you.

Thank you. Roy Humphries, your line is open. Please begin.

Thank you. This is a budget matter, as noted by the county's criminal enterprise led by the four Democrats of treason, assassins, perverts, child molesters, and fraudsters. And its supporters deserve what it has gotten and will continue to get as God leads President Trump down the path of righteousness and virtue with federal homeless subsidies to Los Angeles having been terminated as of today. So open up your pocketbooks. the gang of four democrats and the queens of child abuse of 300 000 unaccounted for border crossers as to the state a forensic audit is urgently needed children have and will always suffer the wrongs of adults all biden illegals for which you are paying our tax dollars must go now as to create

a agent's allegiance to the united states of america and law and order thank you caller with phone number three one zero seven two two your line is open please state your name and begin hi my name is janet assante from the justice la coalition i'm calling in because i continue to hear these conversations from the board that we're unsure where their money will be coming from We've seen that the Sheriff's Department is clearly defunding everything else in our county. And from the members and the hundreds of community members that have sent you public comments, we know that this issue is a priority for them because it's life or death. What is it going to take for this issue to be a priority for you? Every single supervisor has responded to our request to meet, aside from Supervisor Hahn. And to me, that demonstrates a clear lack of investment in community public safety and community public health. People will continue to be dying in our jails as long as we're funding the sheriff's department, who is now not only harming us inside of these facilities, but outside as well. And that is why we don't see funding for libraries and other things that we desperately need in our communities. So please prioritize public health and safety and fund the J-6 plan, reject the 10 million propitious expansion. Thank you.

Thank you. Marcella Rosen, your line is open. Please begin.

My name is Marcella Rosen. I'm with the Justice LA Coalition. I want to reiterate some of the points we've already heard, that funding for our vulnerable populations is a priority. It's a priority for the people of Los Angeles, and it should be a priority that's reflected by the Board of Supervisors. It's not something that should come from a supplemental budget depending on whether or not there's leftover money from however much probation and sheriff's department takes from funding that's supposed to be going to community resources. It's something that needs to be funded in the primary budget immediately. These are life or death situations and There are also matters of just human respect and dignity that are consistently ignored over time for the Sheriff's Department, which we know that they're fraudulent about. That's all. Thank you.

Thank you. Jasmine, your line is open. Please begin.

I'm part of the Justice LA Coalition. The window for the Board of Supervisors to make things right and follow through on their commitment to close MCJ is quickly closing. If you don't fund the care this county needs in this budget cycle, Jail closure will be postponed an additional year. The billions in taxpayer dollars going towards settlements will continue to grow, and many more lives will be lost. The people of Los Angeles County are watching to see whether their elected officials will do the right thing. So please close MCJ now, invest in community-based mental health care, invest in housing, invest in education, and invest in what the community voted for. Thank you.

Thank you. Anthony Robles, your line is open. Please begin.

Anthony Robles with Justice LA. And with all the money that the county gets and with all the cuts that are always being talked about, public defender's office and other services that are needed for people who are going through the system, one department that seems to never face any cuts or lower funding as the sheriff's department and whether crime rates are up or down. And currently we're in a historic decline in crime rates in Los Angeles County. The sheriff's budget continues to increase and increase and increase. Now is the time to fund phase one of the J-CIT plan. It needs to be heard, first of all, and then funded. And it's a very low budget item. It's only about $24 million, and that can be done in this county, especially if there's smart budget decisions being made. So that's all I have to say. It's very simple.

Thank you. Caller with phone number 818-383, your line is open. Please state your name and begin.

Hi, my name is James Takamatsu with the Justice LA Coalition. I just want to say the conversation around the closed MCJ line item was very frustrating to hear. The board voted back in 2020 to close the jail and has put no effort into coming up with the funds for this closure. It's ridiculous. It's um malpractice is neglect how have you known that you want to close this show for years but haven't directed the ceo's office to come up and looking for those funds and just asking them now a week before budget uh deliberations are over with to be like hey where's this money at that's ridiculous The board is always talking about how we're at a budget deficit, but continues to funnel money into the Sheriff's Department, which is overly expensive when alternatives to incarceration cost four times less than what one night in jail costs. You need to start funding J-CIT's plan to close men's central jail now. Thank you.

Thank you. Sahara White, your line is open. Please begin.

Can you hear me?

Yes, go ahead.

Hi, my name is Sahara. I'm with DP and Injustice LA. I'm also here uplifting my loved one who died inside of Twin Towers, Quentin Thomas, on March 9th of 2018. And still we have the elephant in the room. It's been central jail. Today we're talking about line items, pilot programs, and budget allocations, but those are the cats running around in the room. while that elephant still remains right in front of us. You cannot seriously discuss public safety transformation without addressing the future of MCJ, which is closure. The board has already voted. The people have voted. The question is no longer whether MCJ should be closed. The question is whether if you choose to follow through with the courage and take the action necessary to really vote to make this reality. Hence, fund J-SIT's first year recommendations to close down MCJ without a replacement. Too often, we see you guys' enthusiasm over projects and initiatives that come out with ribbon cuttings and opportunities to put your names on it, but the real leadership is not about funding the next shiny project.

Thank you. Caller with phone number 424603, your line is open. Please state your name and begin.

Yeah, how you doing? My name is James. I'm with Justice LA dignity and power now and I'm calling in to say like this really feel like you guys is playing with the community. You playing with the taxpayers because you guys created this Jason so the jail could get closed now that they are ready to present to you how they can close the jail. For $23 million. You guys is seemingly intentionally putting them on the back burner while you continue to be motivated by your own selfish and self-gratification in your own project while we still have people in the county jail die. You know, so it's like you guys really playing with the community. You guys need to fund Jason so we can get this jail closed. And $23 million is a drop in the bucket compared to what y'all keep on giving out for Rome for Death by these damn sheriff gang members. Y'all need to get real and show that you're real.

Caller with phone number 505-553. Your line is open. Please state your name and begin.

Hello, my name is Genevieve Romero Takamatsu. I'm a member of the Justice LA Coalition. I'm calling to say that this board needs to fund the proposals that J-CIT has put forward. This board has made a commitment a long, long time ago to fund community-based alternatives to incarceration and to close men's central jail, and that hasn't happened at all. We have people dying in this facility every single week, it seems like, and yet nobody seems to care. As an attorney, the amount of hoops that we have to jump through just to ensure that our clients' constitutional rights are protected is astronomical, yet there's never any more funding for public defenders. There's never any funding for diversion efforts at the same rate that there's funding for incarceration. This board has shown time and time again that when they say they want to close Men's Central Jail, it's just lip service because they don't actually care about the members of this community when they're willing to let them rot away a facility that kills them every single week.

Thank you. Madam Chair, there are no other remote speakers to address the board. Remote participation for set matter one is now concluded. We will go to our in-person speakers. Please begin.

Vanessa Perez, I'm here today questioning why my son was sentenced to six years in state prison only to be given a release date that transferred him back into the sheriff's custody. Joseph was supposed to be released so he could finally return home and receive medical care and mental health support he desperately needed. I'm here demanding the release of Joseph so he can receive proper medical treatment and have the opportunity to begin rebuilding his life. My son has endured enough trauma at the hands of the system from his experiences with the sheriff's deputies. to the ongoing medical neglect inside mcj to the inhumane living conditions he continues to endure while his health deteriorates joseph's esophagus remains swollen his skin condition continues to worsen and referrals for necessary medical care are allowed to expire without treatment being provided the conditions inside mcj are deplorable and those responsible should be ashamed no human being should be subjected to these conditions especially individuals who are already struggling with serious medical issues my son deserves medical care dignity and a chance to heal he has suffered enough thank you Thank you. Next speaker, please.

My name is Anthony Arenas, District 3 with Dignity and Power. Now in the Justice LA Coalition speaking against that matter one. You want to talk about funding jail closure? Supervisor Hahn authored a motion March 3rd ordering the jail closure implementation team to produce a timeline for its closure. And you, Supervisor Hahn, have repeatedly delayed funding of $24 measly million for the first year of closure. This budget cycle, the board is showing that it doesn't prioritize care as they approve $10 million to go towards renovation of Pitch's Detention Center instead of funding diversion. If you don't fund the care this county needs, jail closure will be postponed an additional year. The billions in taxpayer dollars going towards settlements will continue to grow and many more lives will be lost. The people are watching to see whether you will do the right thing. Thank you.

Thank you. Next speaker, please. Hi, my name is Shannon Axe. I'm speaking on item one. Housing is a human right, not a privilege. As emergency housing vouchers face devastating cuts, thousands of people in Los Angeles are at risk of losing the stability and safety they fought so hard to find. These vouchers have helped families, seniors, disabled people, LGBT plus individuals, and people who have experienced homelessness rebuild their lives. Los Angeles must act now to protect these homes and ensure that no one is forced back onto the streets because of funding shortfalls. We need long-term solutions, stronger protections, and a serious investment in affordable housing. The housing crisis will not be solved by cutting resources. It will be solved by creating more housing, preventing existing housing, preserving existing housing and treating every person with dignity. And it is honestly so disgusting to see leaders on this council who went and visited Donald Trump, a Nazi, and have the nerve to act like... Thank you. Next speaker, please.

Good morning. My name is Elliot. Supporting TGI-focused programs is an effective intersectional policy strategy because transgender, diverse, and intersex individuals are not separate parts of a population from other vulnerable groups. They exist across every demographic category that systems are designed to serve. While public programs often compartmentalize populations into categories, categories, such as older adults, youth, veterans, individuals with serious mental illness, or those experiences with substance use disorders, TGI individuals are represented within each one of these groups. Despite this overlap, TGI individuals frequently face barriers to accessing the services intended for the populations due to discrimination, exclusion, or a lack of affirming care. As a result, broad-based programs do not always reach the people that they're intended to serve. Investing in TGI-focused services helps close these gaps by ensuring that individuals can access this regardless of their gender identity. Because TGI people hold multiple identities, funding affirming programs does not benefit a single isolated population. Thank you. Next speaker, please.

Y'all already know me, Mrs. Loretta Lorraine, Holly Mitchell, my hat goes to you, and Heather Hoback. And I do got to say, y'all district is very clean and polished, but those districts over here on this side, they need a lot of help. I have seen how Maconta Park, her district, also Heather Hunt, and also Eunice's. Maconta Park, they into crisis right now because of the homelessness. population that's coming in in those parks. I'm glad y'all got y'alls in shape. But y'all got to make the right decisions because there's a lot of transgenders are dying on the streets. I've seen the crisis. And they're not in your district. They're in this district over here. They see more of it than y'all do. But I hope y'all come close with these ladies and make sure that y'all make the right choices. with this lady, with Ms. Mitchell and Soli and this lady.

Thank you. Next speaker, please.

Hello, supervisors. My name is Maya Daniels, pronouns they, them. I'm the local policy initiatives organizer for the Trans-Atena Coalition. Facing the HR1 impacts and HUD cuts to LAHSA and also IHSS, I want to uplift the transgender, gender expansive, and intersex housing initiative proposal. which I wrote and collaborated on, which is a $20 million ask to fund case management, rental assistance, and flexible financial assistance for vulnerable populations using Measure A funds. The vulnerable populations identified are the TGI community, system-impacted individuals, whether these are transitional-age youth growing out of the foster care system or those who have been incarcerated, the immigrant community, and those that are disabled and are senior citizens. We presented at the Los Angeles County LGBTQ Plus Commission in the Housing and Homelessness Cluster meeting. This is not a one-time funding request, but a model to be implemented and inspire other models for a change in infrastructure to address housing instability and homelessness prevention efforts. The $50 million state allocation towards Prop 36 will hurt, dehumanize, and further— Thank you.

Next speaker, please.

Good morning, Board of Supervisors. My name is Pamela Molleda. I advocate for housing My name is Pamela Molleda. I advocate for housing to my TGI community. The transgender community has been attacked by most of the society. Transgender people often struggle to find basic resources like food, mental health, and housing. By my own experience, I suffered discrimination when I tried to get a job in education. Since two years ago, I have been suffering health problems and sometimes I almost lost my apartment because I didn't have any money to pay my rent. I can believe it that in these times, I see so many people from community without a place to live on the street. Board of Supervisors, please consider my trans community as you continue with your own project.

Thank you. Next speaker, please.

I don't know if it's morning or afternoon, but hello. My name is Ayanna, last name Dykes. I'm here representing Angels of Change and Trans Latina Center, Trans Latina Coalition. Creating a positive mindset is never just linear. As one of my allies said today, neither is healing. Empowerment for our most vulnerable citizens is not easy. It's not simple. A positive mindset begets independence. Independence begets personal sustainability. This is where the shift focuses towards resilience. At the end of the day, this is what it's all about. This is what we're all here for. I ask you, what nourishes you emotionally and spiritually? What are the influences that make you stronger, give you life, and inspire you? What got you up this morning? We have the visibility. We are inspiring people to join back into the workforce, get certifications, enroll in or go back to school to try and see a future where things can go right for them. Thank you, next speaker please.

Rogelio Martinez, a candidate for Board Supervisor District 4 to succeed Janice Hahn. Income producing recommendations are as followed. Since 2019, LA County has permitted 26,000 ADUs. My plan is to permit via soft costs a typical program such as the LA City LIPA program, which is a shared appreciation program. This program, as an example, awards a homeowner up to $161,000 as a soft second position mortgage which has no monthly payments and is payable upon the sale or transfer of the home. So in this case we get to build more housing, more affordable housing, and at the same time we get to benefit from the permitting costs and the extra property taxes.

Thank you. Next speaker please. Hello, I am Ray Tapia, a resident of LA County and an advocate at the LA LGBT Center. I'm here to ask you to restore the funding for youth experiencing homelessness in the LA County budget. In the United States, approximately 40% of unhoused youth identify as LGBTQ. This is in comparison to the 10% of the US population that identifies as LGBTQ, showing that this group is disproportionately affected by housing insecurity. As someone who works and interacts with the LGBT community, I have known people whose mental and physical health have been affected while staying in a home where they feel unsafe and unwelcomed. To protect themselves, they often leave this environment to protect their well-being. With the budget for homeless services, LGBTQ youth will be able to have continued support and access to programs that help them thrive. You have the ability to help them, and it is as simple as adjusting the budget that was cut for homelessness funding. Do the right thing. Thank you.

Thank you. Next speaker, please.

Good morning, my name is Miranda Garcia and I'm with the Angels of Change Trans Latina Coalition.

Good morning, my name is Miranda Garcia and I'm with the Angels of Change Trans Latina Coalition. So I'm here to make public comments about housing within the budget. As trans women, we have great barriers when it comes to housing issues.

Sé que es un arduo trabajo el que hacen, pero tienen que ser más equitativos a la hora de tomar decisiones para mejorar la vida de las comunidades en cuestión de vivienda.

I know that you do some really hard work, but you really need to be more equitable when you are looking at making decisions for communities in terms of housing.

Ahora mismo es triste ver a hermanas transgéneros muriendo enfermas en los parques sin hogar y ver cómo están luchando por tener un techo, alimentos, y todo esto es porque los presupuestos no están siendo distribuidos como deben de ser.

Right now it is so sad to see transgender women who are dying in the parks because they do not have access to housing and to medical care and it is because the resources are not being equitably distributed. Some of us have privileges. Some of us have privileges that others of us don't and it is important to have empathy in order to help our communities. Thank you so much for supporting and helping our communities. This is new for me making public comment, but it is so important to be able to provide dignity and a roof over our heads to our communities. Thank you. Next speaker, please.

Gracias, Senora.

Good morning. Can I ask for additional time? Okay. I would like to... Do I get my time back? Thanks. Thank you, Ms. Solis and the five ladies who are taking this seat to represent your constituents. I would like to thank everyone. It's June 16, 2026. The County of Los Angeles Public Health Department does a great job of giving people a copy of their printout after they consent of getting assistance. They don't refuse that. They're doing great jobs. They also, if you request for your document, they do a great job of giving you your documents so you can bring to court also. You also can get from your local county clinics, hospitals, etc.

Ma'am, just want to make sure you're commenting on the budget item. This is what this is for at this moment, not general public comment.

Yes, to continue funding the printout of this items because women just as myself who have been misdiagnosed because identify as a woman and resources are being taken away from me have to request for documents like this.

That concludes the time for public comment on set matter one.

Somebody will handle your concerns, ma'am. We have the department here.

Okay, thank you. This report is a receiving file.

Hearing no objections, that will be the order.

We will now move on to item 10, streamlining homelessness prevention services, including for fire impacted communities in Los Angeles County, which is held by Supervisor Barger. Members of the public joining us remotely to comment on this item.

Supervisor Barger.

Thank you, Madam Chair. And thank you to Supervisor Horvath for co-authoring this motion with me. I also want to acknowledge and thank each of our department and agency leads for being here. Sarah, Rafael, Emilio, Tommy, you've all played a major important role in getting this motion going. Today I'm bringing this item before the board because I feel very strongly it is time to have a conversation surrounding homelessness prevention. I believe the smartest dollars we spend, and I know we've talked about this at the board level, are on dollars that we spend keeping someone from becoming homeless in the first place. Prevention is dramatically less expensive than shelter, less expensive than interim housing, and a fraction of the cost of permanent supportive housing. Every resident we keep stably housed is a person that never enters a system we are all working so hard to fix. And speaking of residents being stably housed, I want to talk just for a moment about Altadena. Nearly 18 months after the Eaton fire, I still have constituents who are paying a mortgage on a home that burned to the ground while also paying rent somewhere else, carrying two housing costs in one income, waiting on insurance payouts which still, still delay them being able to move forward And many of them have run out of the housing allowance by insurance companies, which I think there's something going on there, given the fact that they drag it out to the point where the survivors will take anything out of desperation. The temporary lifelines these families relied on were never designed for a multi-year rebuild. FEMA assistance, insurance, living expense benefits, hotel stays, short-term rentals, those were built to last weeks and months, but not years. And as those supports run out, only our fire survivors are quietly sliding toward housing instability. The people I worry about most are our seniors. They have fixed incomes, and they do not have a runway or the income to absorb this. Without deliberate action, some of our fire survivors will go from homeowners to homeless. Recently, my office has heard from a lot of these frustrated constituents, especially in Altina, about how confusing it is to navigate LA County's prevention resources. And I completely understand their confusion. I dealt with it myself while serving on the ECRA after we passed Measure A and had to relearn the whole prevention system from scratch. The prevention landscape changed and I think it's important we work to clarify who owns and funds and what parts of the prevention system and properly message this to the fire survivors as well as other county residents who need these safety net services. I do want to acknowledge that all the progress that's currently underway between your departments and agencies to address this issue. And I thank you for that. This motion aims to build on that progress and through a 45 day report back, clarify and launch an updated prevention resource page equipped with information on services ranging from rental assistance to housing navigation. It will clearly describe eligibility criteria, identify the important point of contact agency and communicate to our residents how best to apply or be referred. Additionally, my motion tasks the CEO to work with each one of you on the countywide mapping of homelessness prevention services so that we can all better understand how resources connect across different entities. The goal here is to connect residents to the right prevention resources while trying to make it more efficient and user friendly. I also think it's important this county consider having a dedicated prevention navigator established within HSH using existing resources. This would be a person that could help steer our referrals to the appropriate department agency based on the resident's needs. So that's also part of the report back. With that, I would like to ask some questions. And this is for you, Sarah, and thank you for the job you're doing. As the regional lead convener on homelessness services and programs, can you talk about who funds and owns prevention resources and referrals in the system now that Measure A is fully in place?

Yes. Thank you, Supervisor Barger, Sarah Mayen, Director of the Department of Homeless Services and Housing. And as you noted, thanks to the voters passing Measure A, there's now more local money than ever. flowing directly into our communities and into the long-term affordable housing and homelessness prevention solutions that we need. Data on progress towards Measure A and our goals show that we're supporting more people than ever before in our homelessness system, yet more people are becoming homeless. Prevention is key to solving homelessness. With Measure A, the resources for prevention are spread across parties. In FY26-27, La Casa will administer and distribute an estimated $385 million across affordable housing and prevention. These resources are administered centrally, but they also go to local jurisdictions. In addition to the resources through La Casa, DCBA administers vital prevention resources, including Stay House LA, the Emergency Rent Relief Program, and other programs for those who are at risk of active displacement. DPSS also administers homeless prevention resources. And HSH will continue to administer resources for our innovative homeless prevention unit, which is a targeted program. And then our local partners can use their local solutions funds to fund prevention. So for example, the city of Long Beach is using some of their local solutions funds and some of their La Casa funding to help expand our homeless prevention unit in the city of Long Beach. So jurisdictions can be funding their own prevention efforts with these dollars. So the good news is that prevention resources and services are expanding, but as you know, the challenge is how do they all come together and coordinate in a way that makes sense regionally for how resources are allocated and for the person who's needing to be able to navigate them. HSH has a strategic goal to collaborate with DCBA, with La Casa and with these other partners to enhance our prevention programs, to enhance and improve the prevention coordination and to be sharing on data and with our mainstream system partners. We've begun this coordination and we look forward to reporting back.

Thank you. And I would ask you, Tommy, you're the CEO of La Casa, which you just referenced. So I would ask you how much Measure A prevention funding supports direct services countywide versus pass-through to jurisdictions, and how is consistency ensured? And I'm assuming that you all work with CBOs involved in the homeless prevention space.

Yeah, thank you, Supervisor, and great to be here. Yes, the acting CEO for just a few more weeks, and excited to be working with all of you. In the prevention space, where I'm going to use round numbers, about $110 million is dedicated to prevention through the La Casa annual budget. Of that about 80 million dollars goes out to the 13 jurisdictions that receive funding The county is one of those jurisdictions as well as other cogs and the largest cities And so there is a pretty wide amount of discretion for those dollars that go out to jurisdictions The guardrails are set through the program guidelines that are adopted by the La Casa Board of Directors So that's the space to sort of adjust and or direct Thank you for that

I was talking to staff and they said, well, La Casa is the prevention side and the HSH is the side that delivers services. And I said to the Joe Q public, they don't care. They just want to be able to access what they need to access. And again, that's the purpose of this motion is to bring that together because I understand we've all got our own lanes, but there's no reason that our constituents should have to navigate We know, but they don't know. And so that question, I mean, we talk about prevention and we look at rent relief, which is Ford has allocated funding to keep people housed. You've got, Rafael, you've got a data system for your rent relief work. Can DCBA bring to the triage tool and homeless prevention referral service that type of information? And is that rules sustainable beyond current relief programs?

Thank you for the question, Supervisor. Rafael Carrojo, Director, Department of Consumer Business Affairs. I think that question gets right to the heart of the work that we do at DCVA and we bring to the conversation. We actually have data for over 25,000 applicants that applied for the rent relief program. That allows us to see the areas of concentration of need, the types of need, the amount of need, and what's really happening on the ground. And it's something that we could definitely bring to the table of the conversation. But in addition, we have access to other resources and data points besides that. We have our rent registry, where we also collect information and notices of termination. We have our tenant protections hotline, where we handle over 70,000 calls from tenants every year. We also have our prevention programs, our stay housed LA program. Right to Counsel Program, and most recently, our Eviction Diversion Pilot Programs, one that just launched in Compton Courthouse and one that will launch in short order in Van Nuys Courthouse. So all of this gives us data that gives us some good insight into what's actually happening on the ground. And I think collectively looking at that with our partners and all the other programs with the data available there will give us a better understanding of how to focus our resources to really provide those interventions that prevention really is. Because if we look at prevention, what prevention really is is a series of interventions that are owned by a lot of us on this table and some that aren't at the table. And the beauty of this motion is that it forces us to have this active discussion that's already happening, as a matter of fact, around who is responsible for what data we have and how do we better coordinate that for the benefit of the constituents, not just us.

Yeah, and thank you for saying that. I mean, I take my hat off to you all because many times people think that the departments don't necessarily take proactive action. And in this case, you all have been proactive in beginning this discussion because you've seen a pattern and a frustration that's occurred. So I appreciate that. Emilio, this is unscripted, so you may not be able to answer it, but I know that Section 8 housing is, for many people, a lifeline. Are we seeing, I know that we've got a waiting list, are we seeing people moving from Section 8 off of Section 8 so that we're allowing for others to come on, or is it still pretty much stagnant?

Thank you for the question, Supervisor. Jamila Salas, Executive Director of Los Angeles County Development Authority. We have attrition to the tune of about 1,000 to 1,500 households that come off of the Housing Choice Voucher Program annually. Currently, we prioritize those turnover vouchers. to unhoused households. In the current year, we also just, if you recall, made a change to prioritize emergency housing voucher holders in the event that we had capacity. And lo and behold, just a few weeks ago, we received notice of funding that is going to allow us to transition 100% of our emergency housing voucher holders to our Section 8 program.

Excellent. And I want to publicly take my hat off to you as well. I'm definitely impressed with what you've done with the agency and the people that you have running it. I've seen really positive changes and I appreciate the work that you're doing. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you. Supervisor Hines.

Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you, Supervisor Barger, for bringing this forward. You know, I appreciate your saying you think it's time that we have a conversation about prevention, but I think most of us would say we have been having this conversation about prevention. I think from the very first, you know, board meeting that I ever sat at in 2016 and co-authored with Supervisor Ridley-Thomas the measure, H to put on the ballot. We talked a lot about prevention and I think we have every single year because, as you pointed out, I mean, it's so much more cost effective to keep people housed and to keep them from falling into homelessness. It's been difficult, I think, to communicate all of our prevention initiative, it's also hard to quantify who isn't homeless because everything is so focused on the count, like how many people are homeless. And we just focus on that number and it's hard to know who's not homeless. And yet, you know, pretty sure that number is significant as it sounds like each one of you has pretty significant initiatives as it relates to homelessness. You know, I think Measure A is making historic investments in homelessness prevention. And La Casa, you know, all five members of this board sit on La Casa. And we just at the most recent meeting approved the budget that continues to invest in homelessness prevention. And I always like to pair that with preservation of existing housing stock. I think that needs to get as much attention as almost any initiative we have. And the housing stock is always at risk for being redeveloped or taken away. Mobile home parks, you know, many cities want to get rid of them and put in more desirable housing. That's the last bastion of affordable housing, in my opinion, is our mobile home parks. So I think preservation and prevention are right there together. La Casa, 30 million has been approved for renter protection, homelessness prevention. emergency rental assistance, including $11.4 million to help households at immediate risk of eviction or displacement. So a total of $41.4 million with just that agency's managed funds. And $80 million, Measure A, goes to various jurisdictions to fund prevention. So we've got a lot of, you know, dollars are really being thrown at the problem or the solution of prevention. And thank you, our acting CEO of La Casa, Tommy Newman, for being here today. I just want to focus on you two, Sarah and Tommy. How, I think it's critical, again, sitting on La Casa board and realizing the budget we just approved, knowing the budget that we approved for our Department of Housing and Homelessness Services, I can never get the name right, How do you two see your agencies working together to, particularly for this dollar amount, which you both have, for prevention, since that's the focus of Supervisor Barger's motion today? How do you see you two working together? Talk it out among yourselves.

Great, I'll start and Tommy will chime in. I think it's really critical that we're working together and we recognize that from the beginning. As, for example, La Casa was standing up its RenterAid and designing what its prevention programming was like, HSH was there from the beginning. We've also worked really closely on our outreach and communication with our eligible jurisdictions and aligning around how we're communicating how the funds can be used and strategically sort of leveraged and brought together. And then the things that we're working on right now that our teams are working on now and actually with Raphael's team at DCBA, we have some pretty strategic goals that we're working on over the next quarter. And it includes what's our shared vision for what the prevention ecosystem looks like. I think everyone's asking for us to present that and say what does the map look like, the ecosystem around prevention. How do you map out, to map out what the referral pathways are so it's more clear around how people access the different programs and how they interact with each other. To have a clear way for us to be continuing to communicate and and coordinate across each other. It's been more ad hoc, and we can make that more formalized. And then to have a clear sort of decision-making framework for moving forward. As we're independently making decisions and with our respective bodies, how do we align and coordinate around that decision-making?

Tommy?

I echo everything that Sarah shared. And it's been a great partnership. And the La Casa partnership with the county has been really fantastic. The county has helped stand up La Casa. The county staff can't be more thankful. So we're excited about the foundation that's been built. The renter aid program that the board has approved and we're now beginning to build out is, I think, going to be a really important tool. I couldn't agree more with the sort of thrust of this motion, which is to somebody out there who thinks they're going to lose their housing and just needs a little bit of help, We can't have 12 different websites with 12 different rules and 12 different pathways. So we've got to figure out how to connect the dots between these things. It should feel seamless. It should feel easy and clear. And we should get people an answer quickly, whether it's a yes or a no, depending. We can't have it sort of disappear the ether. So that is the mandate for the La Casa team as we're working to build out RenterAid. I think a big question, and this is a question that we'll be bringing to La Casa committees, and incoming chair Santana at the La Casa board has said this very clearly, he wants to make sure that we're thinking about how RenterAid connects to other programs, connects to the larger system. The La Casa staff regularly reminds me that we need to walk quickly before we run, so we need to demonstrate that we can Get these dollars out. We've expanded the eligibility definition beyond just folks who have an eviction. So we've gone upstream further to folks who are struggling with their housing stability. So that's a big deal. So I think we're just in a really exciting moment of transformation. There have been a lot of one time dollars, a lot of one off programs, and now we're moving into the next chapter of this work. And I'm really excited to do that work with the county team.

Yeah, thank you. Because, you know, and listening to all four of you, it does seem like you've got stuff going on in your individual worlds. But it feels like maybe sometimes our residents don't know where to turn for help. And they're the ones that are going to need these resources the most. So I think this centralized resource page and these referral pathways are going to be critical for getting it out. It's going to be good for my office because we're always You know, we also have referrals. We have a lot of need that comes into our office and will be really Comforting to know that there is a pathway forward for folks who need it the most. So I feel like the money is out there. I mean, I feel like we have an unprecedented amount of money that voters residents. you know, our different boards have chosen to appropriate. Now it really is about making sure we coordinate, work together, so that we can really, you know, keep people from falling into homelessness. That would be the biggest step forward we could make in addressing this crisis, in my opinion. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you.

Supervisor Mitchell.

Thank you very much, Madam Chair, and I really agree with all that's been said. And I understand kind of the the goal and the framing of the motion, I just want to identify something the original version I support a prevention navigator I think that makes sense, the original version of the motion I read housed the navigator in H sh. And I now see that the revised motion that's before us today removes that language. And so my question is, in the report back, are you expecting the report back will have a recommendation about where that person will be housed?

I think that was a feedback we got was better to let them come back and tell us where it's best suited versus have it be more prescriptive. And so we took that...

Okay, I appreciate that. I will just say, for consideration, as this board has talked about the intended purpose of HSH, it seemed logical to me when I read the initial language that that's where the navigator would be housed. So I look forward to the report back, and we'll be supporting today's motion. Thanks. I'm impressed you caught that.

I'm good. Uh-huh.

Thank you. To my colleagues, good questions asked. And I just wanted to say that I'm always perplexed because earlier, I think, Sarah, you mentioned how many different departments have different jurisdictions. And of course, it's mind boggling. I mean, even for one person to understand which button to push is complicated. I'm wondering if you all are even thinking maybe in this report back is looking at putting together some kind of an app. thinking about consolidation and how you can, how would you see that moving forward?

I think it's a great suggestion and something that we should look at. And maybe isn't version one, maybe it's a version two, but I think it's definitely a great suggestion for us to consider.

And I'm equally concerned about language access, because we have a lot of people that, particularly immigrant communities from different across the board, and having the ability to have the appropriate language, not encyclopedia, so to speak, but that is spoken and that people can understand, so it's culturally competent. And I think that's where we always find resistance and hardship. And it costs money, but it's necessary. And I would ask you to do that, to look at how that plays out. And I know, Rafael, you have a lot of experience in this, and so do you, Emilio, because of the populations you deal with. Do you have any suggestions how we can improve upon what we're doing? I agree wholeheartedly with consolidating, coordinating, but then how do we make sure we're not leaving anybody out? So...

I think it's a combination of the work that's already happening and the language access prioritization that this board has placed upon all the departments. So our Office of Immigrant Affairs has been working with all of our departments countywide on ensuring language accessibility for everyone that we serve. I think this is an opportunity to put what we've learned into practice, in particular knowing that this issue cuts across so many different populations.

and I know that was a motion that I think I carried a while back, but I still see a resistance with some of our departments, and I don't mean to offend anyone in any way, but I just think there's more we can do, and having other eyes looking at how information is distributed is very helpful, given the expertise that we have on this panel.

If I may, Supervisor, this will be a very difficult task to get to that end result where we have a seamless process, given that there are also other jurisdictions that provide resources countywide that aren't inclusive, that we do not control, like the 18 other PHAs that have housing resources as well. So getting there will be a difficult task, but I think La Casa, bringing and funding all of these various different jurisdictions kind of helps to align all of those resources so that we could be there someday where we have a singular resource button where we can access all of the resources available countywide.

I'm still always distressed when I hear my constituents call me from the unincorporated areas. And I'll continue to be on that because we still are not seeing the kind of reform that some of us wanted to see a long time ago. And we do have enough funding to take care of some of these issues. But we're also finding that some of the cities that we work with around the unincorporated areas are not helping to lift up and provide this. So what can we do better to make that happen? La Casa, you have a carrot to dangle. But how do we really get that change so it isn't just subliminal, but it's really getting into the weeds and helping real people? that are struggling.

It's such a critical point, Supervisor. And I think one of the things we're excited about as we've worked to build out Renter Aid, the La Casa board has made a commitment of sort of foundational roughly $30 million, which will be emergency rental assistance, connections to eviction defense, also dollars for legal services. But we're up to about $20 million so far in commitments from the jurisdictions that receive funding from La Casa, roughly split, about half emergency rental assistance, about half illegal services, that they want to put into the renter aid concept, this online community-facing portal. Anybody can go and apply and use it. So the program will launch, it's gonna soft launch this fall and then formally launch in January with about $50 million of investment available countywide. And then jurisdictions that are choosing to increase their dollars will increase the available funding in those cities. And so we're really excited about the foundation we're building. I think what this motion and what the conversation we're having here today is, is really challenging us to think, okay, that's step one. Step one, create that community facing portal. The board, La Casa board has invested $2 million in outreach and renter education to help folks raise awareness about it, which is really exciting. But now the question is how we connect the dots. And I think that's the work.

And Rafael, how are you interfacing with that? Because you do much of the same work.

Yeah, that's a great question. And Tommy and his team have been amazing partners from day one. We actually meet every two weeks, every Friday morning to talk about how we integrate the work that we do with what they're doing and how we connect all of our programming into this ecosystem that we're building collectively. Because the same folks at La Casa serving, regardless of jurisdiction, they come to the county, whether they're in Long Beach, L.A. City, they're still calling us. They're still looking for resources. So we're trying to figure out the best way to integrate ourselves into the system effectively and efficiently to better serve those folks.

And Emilio, anything you want to add?

I want to give an example of how we're leveraging our resources. This board adopted a rent stabilization ordinance to try to make sure that folks complied in unincorporated areas. Well, we deal with 10,000 landlords. And so the vast majority that we're requesting rent increases had not yet registered with Rafael's registry. And so we referred 100% of these folks over. You first must register before you can then apply that rental increase and make sure it's in compliance. But these are kinds of examples of how collectively we are aware of each other's areas of responsibility to make sure that we're leveraging our resources because 98% of the rent increases that were coming in were not compliant with that rent stabilization ordinance.

Would you, taking that a step further, you think this kind of example might be shared with some of those other cities that are out of compliance, are not aware of how to do this? I mean, providing that technical assistance to them, because I think we could gain a lot more. I mean, with this moving forward in the manner, I think it would be incredible to be able to have cities in the SGV, where I represent, to get more engaged in this and understand that there's actually help from you all, from people who understand how this work is done. Is that something you all would consider as a part of this? Maybe that could be in your report back or whatever. Catherine, I don't know, Supervisor Barger, is that something we can look at? But thank you, so seeing no other questions from my colleagues, and thank you to the panel, and we'll go to public comment.

Will the following individual please come forward and staff will assist you? Rogelio Martinez. As a final reminder for remote participants, to be placed in the speaking queue to address item 10, if you have not already done so, please use the raise hand feature on your device or press star three on your telephone now. Roy Humphreys, your line is open, please begin.

Thank you, Supervisor Barker, for your effort in this conspiracy old boondoggle to victimize the victims. My sources note that the insurance companies are paying out a paltry 40% of coverage amount in order to get their constituent persons to move on. And L.A. governance continues to victimize the victims. L.A. deserves what it gets for failing to vote for Spencer Pratt. President Trump warriors are needed to rescue the Palisades. As to the reservoirs, as I note, two are still empty, and the Chinese are lying on the floor, rolling around, laughing at the combined incompetence of this endeavor.

Thank you. Madam Chair, there are no other remote speakers to address the board. Remote participation for item 10 is concluded. We will go to in-person speaker. Please begin.

Rogelio Martinez, candidate for District 4 Board of Supervisors. So on May 21st, which was 26 days ago, approximately 50,000 people became homeless as a result of a loss of primary containment at the GKN Aerospace Facility in Garden Grove. My recommendation is the home ownership preservation program, which means we have a 90-day window. Once the NOD, the notice of default, is filed and the notice of trustee sale upon the 210th day, we have an opportunity as the county to actually cure the debt for said homeowner in once again a shared appreciation program that will allow us to benefit from the once the property is sold or transferred and also allow the homeowner to stay in their home thank you thank you next speaker please

Good afternoon, it's June 16th, 2026. A lot of these agencies that are continuously getting the funding in which it's still unsafe for a lot of biological women and men to go back to work because of the quote unquote homeless population, quote unquote second chance, quote unquote criminals, when professional people with student loans who know the rules, follow the rules, don't even drink when they come into county facilities, they don't even drink, smoke, prostitute, sell illegal drugs while they're getting Section 8 housing, then I, as someone who listens, don't agree when humans come to work every day wearing a badge or these five women here or these lawyers get ridden up, their bar taken away because they're following the rules and everybody's just.

Thank you. Next speaker, please.

Yes, Octavio Ortiz. And I want to thank Ilda Solis. She did listen to what I had to say and agreed. Um, she actually, I'm still home in my house and it's very difficult for the agencies, especially the federal agency, the social security, which they don't want to listen. They don't, I mean, they actually harass me and don't want to admit to the social security, to my claim and. It's very easy to fall into the homeless situation. My daughter wants to help me, but I'm not going to ask my daughter to help me. Rather, crawl in a hole and all that. But thank you for Soliza. She actually cleared a lot of the issues that I had where I live. Thank you.

Thank you. That concludes the time. You need to speak to someone, sir, from our department. I mean, we can have someone talk to you. I'll have one of my staffers go down there. Thank you. Okay. Let's continue. Is that the last speaker?

That is the last speaker. Madam Chair, members of the board, item 10 is before you.

Okay. This item is moved by Supervisor Barger and seconded by Supervisor Hahn. To approve the item, Executive Officer, please call the roll.

Supervisor Mitchell?

Aye.

Supervisor Mitchell? Aye. Supervisor Hahn? Aye.

Aye.

Supervisor Han, aye. Supervisor Barker? Aye. Supervisor Barker, aye. Supervisor Solis?

Aye.

Supervisor Solis, aye. Motion carries four to zero. We will now move on to item 13, responsibly advancing the Whittier Narrows Dam Safety Modification Project. Items 81B and 2P, ensuring local governance, public access, and the community stewardship of the Lario staging area, which were held by Supervisor Solis. For members of the public joining us remotely to comment on this item, please use the raise hand feature if you are online or press star three if on the telephone. Anthony C. Maroney, Fire Chief. Albert Yanagisawa, Deputy Fire Chief, Fire Department. Jolene Guerrero, Deputy Director, Department of Public Works. And Kevin Regan, Assistant Director,

department of parks and recreation will be available for questions for the departmental speakers please state your name and title for the record when you address the board good thank you uh panel for being here in our key departments um and i want to thank especially supervisor barger for joining me on this and uh for bringing to my attention one of the items that we're gonna be talking about and that has to do with L'Oreal Park in the north part of my district in the San Gabriel Valley. I wanted to couple these two items together because they're critical pieces of our infrastructure that connect the Emerald Necklace of the San Gabriel Valley and the Whittier Narrows Dam in the south, and of course, L'Oreal Park. The two are tied together by a regional bike path, if you weren't aware, I'm sure you are, that the county has been heavily invested in developing for many, many years. Both contain, as you know, critical infrastructure operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. And both are high-fire security zones that we often struggle with because we have encampments there that pop up or have been there for a long period of time. which creates concerns for the surrounding city as well as for our unincorporated areas and just for individuals that would use these properties to go and take a hike, walk, and enjoy an outdoor event with their families. The first item is item 13, and that motion is related to the Whittier Narrows Dam Modification Project, which I read in last week. After years of advocacy, the project to provide needed repairs and enhancements to the dam, I would say, is finally moving forward. And while these upgrades are essential to protect approximately one point, 25 million residents downstream, that is not an easy task. And we have to ensure that the federal government and our partners complete this work responsibly and in full partnership with Los Angeles County. The Army Corps construction plans, as I hear, will bring major temporary and permanent impacts to other trails, bikeways, open space, and roadways that will also impact other along that particular corridor. And as a county, we have to insist that these impacts be identified, that they be mitigated to the fullest extent possible. And I also want to thank Director Pestrella, obviously, and his staff, very capable staff, for stepping up to agree to head and lead this county effort, because we do need someone at the helm to help us in this. His leadership, and I know he's had many, many years working with the Army Corps. I've seen him in action. I've seen him back in D.C. I've seen him here when we've had Army Corps individuals out, and he is well-respected, and I believe that he is empowered to be able to have the kind of respect and contact to help us ensure that we have direct and a consistent coordination and that face forward of the county. And I would hope that and expect that the Army Corps to also help us maintain safe ADA compliant detours throughout this construction and to ensure that our regional bikeway networks including the San Gabriel River bike path remain accessible and is fully restored and enhanced once that project is complete. These are concerns that I am hearing now surrounding cities, both in the first and also in the fourth district. I want to emphasize the urgent need to coordinate action on homelessness. That has been our priority, the encampments that exist there, the fire hazards within that reservoir area. We need to really come up with a better plan and really engaged the Army Corps in helping us. And as you know, we've already seen two fire incidents just this June of this year. And we've seen other incidents that have occurred even in May. And I know, Chief Maroney, you know that better than any of us. Those fires, as you know, threaten our public safety, our parkland, our wildlife, and our dam project in and of itself. The Army Corps, in my opinion, must work with our outreach teams and, of course, the fire department and public works to reduce those fire hazards. And I know we've undertaken some previous exercises with them for removal of debris and trash and going out way ahead of time to talk to those that were in encampments. Many, we're talking about 50 to 100 that were there. I know that that may be... minimize now, but I will say that it's still constant. And as long as we still have fires and you're being called up, then we still need to do much, much more. I want to make sure that we are committing also whatever funding available to help with the fire access roads and those improvements. And I know I put in some of my own discretionary money to do that because I realize what a hazard this is. And this is something that's been going on for decades. In fact, At the time, Congressman Napolitano had a big role to play here, and I haven't seen that since she moved on, I have to say, unfortunately for us. But that's where the county comes in, and I think that's where public works and our departments then need to work quickly so that we can help partner with the Army Corps and continue that that partnership with them. So the motion also requires a robust, multilingual community outreach effort, not just by the Army Corps, but by our county-led meetings so residents can have clear information and timelines and what to expect in terms of detours and any long-term changes. Whenever we do projects, especially that impact such a wide park area, regional park, communities that utilize that park are going to see disruption. And we need to be able to give them the information ahead of time in their languages, whether it's Asian or Latino or whatever it might be, we need to make sure that we do that. Or for folks that are also disabled, those folks also utilize our surrounding area. So I ultimately support the project because I know that lives are going to depend on, I said earlier, 1.2, 5 million people below that are going to be impacted. We've been hearing about this for some time from Mark Pestrella, and now it's time for us to get in and really work closely with the Army Corps. So I would also expect that our county departments, like DPW, work with all of our local localities. And what I mean there is the cities that are potentially impacted, some of whom have already contacted us, and some that I don't represent, but I know Supervisor Hahn We'll probably speak about that. But I'm talking about South El Monte, I'm talking about Rosemead, and I'm talking about Montebello, which are all in the first district. But this impact is far greater than that, obviously. And I know Supervisor Hahn will talk about substantial impacts that she has been told about through the city of Pico Rivera, and they've also been working, I know, along with you all and with the Army Corps for some years. So rebuilding this infrastructure, such as the Complete Streets transformation of Rosemead Boulevard, which we did with DPW, has been ongoing for several years. So I know that there is a track record that we have here, that we can move this collaboration forward and make sure that we work with the surrounding cities. because they too feel sometimes that their voices are not heard, and we really have to take that seriously when we're advocating with the federal partner, in this case the Army Corps. So to that end, I've distributed minor revisions in the final directive. of my motion and those have just been passed out and it's just to make clear that the perspective of the surrounding cities are included in this advocacy and to make clear that these concerns are not only on behalf of the county but also our other regional partners so it isn't just the county it's the surrounding area it's such a large area and then secondly i would i would say i want to uplift item 81 b which relates to item 2p posted on the supplemental agenda regarding lario the staging area by Santa Fe Dam. I would like to thank my co-author again, Supervisor Barger, for joining me on this motion and appreciate her bringing this to my attention given that the Lario staging area facility is located in the first district. I want to appreciate her staff working with my team and the cities of Azusa, Irwindale, and in her district, Duarte. Like the Whittier Narrows Dam, Lario is another major open space asset that we have that is also under the under the purview of the Army Corps of Engineers because of the lease agreement that we have. It is a 45-acre regional trailhead and equestrian staging facility within the Santa Fe Dam control basin, which has historically operated by our Department of Parks and Recreation. But during the Eaton Fire and Palisades Fire, some of you may recall emergency responses at that time in 2025, the EPA used Lario Park as a temporary hazardous waste staging site under a permit that was issued directly by the Army Corps. And many of our residents, including those cities that I mentioned, were taken aback. because they felt they were not informed, there was no coordinated messaging, and of course, the blame came to lay in our hands here. And that was done prior to consultation, I understand, with County Parks, despite the county being the long-term operator. So after EPA completed its work and demobilized, EPA conducted comprehensive water, soil, and air testing and found that there were no environmental concerns associated with the temporary use of the site. But as you could imagine, the cities in that area were saying, we don't want this to ever happen again. And that's, I think, the basis for this motion that we're looking at here, because we wanna restore recreational access to that area, to that park, but also making sure that there's public confidence in that these things, we can avoid them in the future from having hazardous materials brought to sites in that manner without being consulted and trying to figure out beforehand what other alternatives there might be. So even with those assurances, the county has not exercised its right of refusal to resume the lease of that staging area for everyone to know. And on June the 1st, the cities of Duarte, Irwindale and Azusa sent a letter to my office requesting that the county decline reinstatement so that they could pursue their own direct lease via a joint power authority with the Army Corps. Pretty bold step, I would say, and one that I tend to agree with. And Supervisor Barger, I know that that was important for you to share with me, and we both hear the concerns of our residents in that particular area. I appreciate that the three cities have collaborated and have put forward a plan and a path working with us, with DPW and also with our departments here, and I'm grateful that they have also sent a letter of support for this motion, and that came in yesterday. I don't know if members saw it, but I have one. and I'm delighted because there was a false pretense I think that somehow the cities were working against us or that we were not open to collaborating with them and nothing could be further from the truth. So I absolutely wanna be clear on that. And again, I just want to say that it's so important for us to collaborate, the fire department, Army Corps, and our cities and our outreach teams, so we get it right. And under a JPA, the cities will also have to maintain full compliance with park measure and open space district requirements, including perpetual operation as a public park. So we're not taking away all of our resources. abilities to help with that. And because Lario Park includes critical regional infrastructure, including the San Gabriel River Regional Trail and the Puente Largo Bridge, we expect that the Army Corps and the cities will work closely with Public Works to maintain that trail connectivity, the safety and long-term operational standards consistent with regional needs, because this is a regional effort. Again, I just want to underscore My thanks to the city managers from Azusa, Irwindale and Duarte and the city council members that reached out and called us and called me over the weekend to express their concerns and really wanting to get to the bottom of it. And I was happy to say that we had almost for the first time been notified that there were ongoing discussions about all of this. And somehow there was misinformation put out there about our offices or my office in particular, which I don't take too lightly because I know that my staff is very diligent in working with our cities and working across with our other board of supervisors, and of course with our departments. So I find it necessary to bring these motions here forward today and hope that my colleagues will support these items. So I thank you, and I didn't ask any questions, but I know you all have been working very hard. I don't know, DPW, you wanna say something, Ms. Moody? I know Mark isn't with us today. He was with me all day yesterday. We were doing a whole bunch of projects unveilings, but thank you.

Angela George Moody, Chief Deputy for Public Works, excuse me, Yes, supervisor. The director wanted us to come today and establish with you that we have a sound commitment towards collaboration with the cities, with the Army Corps, and making sure that we minimize, if not eliminate, all impacts associated with the project at Whittier Narrows, and then establish a more collaborative approach towards Lario. So yes to everything that you said. We are committed to moving forward.

And give him my thanks because for him to even suggest taking this over as kind of the lead department on a regional level, and because of his collaboration and many, many years of working with the Army Corps, he's well respected by those folks. So I mean, I'm glad that he had agreed he would take on that responsibility. So thank you. And Chief Maroney, is there anything you wish to add? I know you've been called out many times, thousands of times on these two sites.

Yeah, good afternoon. Thank you, Supervisor. So for Whittier Narrows, I know that we've been working closely with your office for the establishment of a brand new access road, which will be utilized by the fire department to get to those brush fires more quickly to keep them small. So we have minimal impacts to the community and to the residents. But we have had a challenge in the Whittier Narrows area. with getting those fires stopped or prevented. And I know we're working with the LASD host team to make sure that people that are experiencing homelessness that are living in these very high fire hazard severity zones have other options other than living in the brush.

Right, and I'm particularly concerned because we are soon, next month, going to be hosting FIFA fan zones very close to this area, and it's going to be hot. And we need to make sure that things are cleared and folks are appropriately housed or given whatever shelter is available to them, and working in close tangent with the Army Corps, because no surprise, sometimes they'll get out there without telling us, But if we coordinate and we do it in an effective manner, I think we can have much more cooperation and hopefully get the message out there to the communities that we are with them, we're on their side, and that we want people to be, if they're there, safely removed. And we are expecting some big, big events there, and then the following two years will be LA-28. And there will probably be similar events and probably more people coming out to that regional area once they see how large and expansive it really is. So again, thank you very much. Supervisor Barger, do you wanna, Supervisor Hahn.

Thank you madam chair, and thank you for bringing this forward, and I think we were all getting calls over the weekend I was getting calls from the city of Pico Rivera who were concerned about this so I appreciate I was going to introduce an amendment to your amendment, but you took care of it, so I appreciate that by you know having us work with all the surrounding cities. You know, the retrofit of this dam is certainly very important, but it also, as we have seen, is going to have some impacts, significant impacts for the neighboring communities. So Pico Rivera in my district was set to lose park, open space, bike trail connections, and key access roads. So I just wanted to elevate what you put in your amendment that I really want public works and parks to collaborate with the city of Pico Rivera and other neighboring cities to ensure that we're working together to address these regional challenges. Pico Rivera has been very proactive. I think there's a strong opportunity to partner and strengthen our regional coalition through this project. And especially if we stand to be successful at the federal level. So I'm going to support this. Appreciate you taking another look at how this impacted our surrounding city, which is true. I mean, we're one big county. We're 88 cities. Most of the time we have regional problems, but they're solved by regional solutions. And so I think this does that. Thank you, Madam Chair. Supervisor Park.

Thank you. And thank you, Supervisor Felice, for bringing this motion forward. And I'm very happy to co-author it with you. I know there was a lot of concern about the use of Lario Park in the Eaton fire recovery. And I understand the cities of Duarte, Irwindale, and Azusa are keen to take over operations and maintenance of this facility, which is what this motion is doing. Given the ongoing coordination with our partner cities in the maintenance of these facilities and addressing issues with encampments, I believe it is in the best interest of all parties involved to continue to establish clear delineation of roles and responsibilities. And I, too, received phone calls over the weekend from the cities and appreciated the fact that Irwindale, Palmdale, or listen to me, Irwindale, Duarte and Azusa city managers signed a letter really stating what their what their vision is. And this motion reflects just that. L'Oreal Park's significance to the Santa Fe Dam Recreation Area and the Emerald Necklace can also not be understated. This motion establishes a certain point of agreement to ensure that the county's investments in these facilities are maintained and the right of access to the public is secured. I've always been a champion and will continue to be a champion of local control and appreciate that the cities want to take more active role in the operation and management of these facilities. And I don't know if you touched on it, but I want to make a clarification because there was this assumption that the bridge was going to be someone else's problem. It's going to be discussed with the county family to figure out who is going to have the maintenance. And I think it's important to set that on the record because the motion reflects that. That it's within the county that we're going to make that determination over who is going to be the lead on that. And there was misinformation out there that we were going to not touch the bridge and let that be someone else's problem, but that is not the case. But thank you again, Supervisor Solis, for allowing me to co-opt this motion with you.

Seeing no other questions from the board, then let's go to public comment, and thank you to the panel for being here.

Will the following individuals please come forward and staff will assist you. Rogelio Martinez and D.R. Chavez. Caller with phone number 562-801, your line is open. Please state your name and begin.

Good afternoon, honorable chair and supervisors. My name is Jesus Garcia. On behalf of the City of Pico Rivera, we thank Supervisor Solis, Supervisor Hahn, and the Board for bringing forward this important motion and for incorporating amendments that recognize the local impacts of the Witten Arrows project and strengthen coordination with surrounding cities. Pico Rivera strongly supports this critical flood safety project and for years have been actively coordinating with the Army Corps. At the same time, we appreciate the Board's recognition that these impacts extend beyond trails and require coordination. Pico Rivera will experience the most direct impacts beginning as soon as this October, including the loss of approximately 104 acres or 57% of all park space in the city, permanent displacement of the Pico Boys Little League, closure of the Pico Rivera Golf Course, impacts to equestrian communities, and significant operational impacts to the internationally recognized Pico Rivera Sports Arena. The city has worked proactively to advance policy solutions, secure resources, and we appreciate this motion's commitment to coordination and respectfully ask that the planning remain centered on preserving community access, quality of life, and cultural fabric of the impacted communities. Thank you all.

Thank you. Madam Chair, there are no other remote speakers to address the board. Remote participation for these items is concluded. We will now go to our in-person speakers. Please begin.

Rogelio Martinez, candidate for District 4 Board of Supervisors. I just wanted to say that I am in favor of this agenda item and that's it, thank you.

Thank you, next speaker please.

Good afternoon. I would like to thank all the humans, Mr. Reagan, who is not here. Thank you very much for being the mentor in the Department of Rec and Parks and now with Parks and Recreation, still advocating for recreation professionals to still make green spaces free. since if you wanna make some money, which a lot of people don't want to pay for even parking when they go to the local recreation centers. But many of us who don't get paid by getting approved for overtime, we have to come and pack our lunches, make sure your children have their temperature, insulation or insulins, that's what it's called, their medication or their lunch while they're being taken care of in childcare and recreation. So please fund or back pay recreation professionals and don't forget us. Thank you.

That concludes the time for public comment on these items.

Madam Chair, members of the board, we have three items for your vote. We'll start with item 13 as revised, which is before you.

I will move it, seconded by Supervisor Barger. Please call the roll.

Supervisor Mitchell.

Aye.

Supervisor Mitchell, aye. Supervisor Hahn. Aye. Supervisor Hahn, aye. Supervisor Barger.

Aye.

Supervisor Barger, aye. Supervisor Solis.

Aye.

Supervisor Solis, aye. Motion carries. We will now go on to item 81B, which is before you.

I will move it. Seconded by Supervisor Hahn.

Supervisor Mitchell?

Aye.

Supervisor Mitchell, aye. Supervisor Hahn? Aye. Supervisor Hahn, aye. Supervisor Barger?

Aye.

Supervisor Barger, aye. Supervisor Solis?

Aye.

Supervisor Solis, aye. Motion carries. We will now go on to item 2P.

Okay, I will move the item seconded by Supervisor Barger.

Supervisor Mitchell? Aye. Supervisor Mitchell, aye. Supervisor Hahn? Aye. Supervisor Hahn, aye. Supervisor Barger? Aye. Supervisor Barger, aye. Supervisor Solis?

Aye.

Supervisor Solis, aye, motion carries four to zero.

Good, thank you.

Okay, Madam Chair, it's my understanding that there are no specials, so we can move on to general public comment.

Thank you to the panel for coming, thank you.

All right, we will now move on to general public comment. At this time, we will hear from members of the public wishing to address the board on general public comment. This is an opportunity for the public to address the board on subject matters within the board's jurisdiction, but not on items on the meeting agenda. For members of the public joining us remotely, please use the raise hand feature if you're online or press star three if on a telephone.

We will now call in in-person speakers and while they're coming forward, we'll take remote speakers. Will the following individuals please come forward and staff will assist you. Vanessa Perez, Robert M., Adrian Estrada, Anthony Arenas, Rogelio Martinez, Ty Foreman, Michelle Rosser, D.R. Chavez, Ayanna Dykes, Ray Tapia, Miranda Garcia, and Octavio Ortiz. Anthony Arenas, your line is open. Please begin. Anthony Arenas?

Yes, can you hear me?

Yes, go ahead, please.

Hi, my name is Anthony Arenas, District 3 with Dignity and Power Now and the Justice LA Coalition, speaking alongside the 98 other people that emailed each one of your offices since yesterday. Supervisor Hahn and the Board, I ask again, where is Men's Central Jail's closure timeline? Supervisor Hahn, you passed a motion on March 3rd ordering the Jail Closure Implementation Team to produce a timeline for its closure yet you, Supervisor Hahn, has repeatedly delayed funding for the first year of implementation of $24 million. This budget cycle, the board is showing that it doesn't prioritize care as y'all approved 10 million to go towards the renovation of Pidge's Attention Center. If you don't fund the care this county needs, Jail closure will be postponed another year. The billions in taxpayer dollars going towards settlements will continue to grow and many more lives will be lost. The people are watching.

Thank you. Roy Humphries, your line is open. Please begin.

Thank you. All systems have endpoints. This county board criminal enterprise has reached its endpoint in so many ways to include funding illegal immigrants. Chinese love your blundering incompetence in dealing with the data center issue. The countywide transient campsite system is lacking. It's not there as they habitate the streets and storm drains of Roland Heights. Thank you. Maybe when Steve Hilton becomes governor of California, this Democrat insurrection will end. We pray to God as for President Trump also. Thank you.

Thank you. Caller with phone number 323-896, your line is open. Please state your name and begin.

Yes, good day. This is Mel Bailey, District 2. First, I want to commend you all for moving through the agenda quicker than I thought you were going to be able to do so. I did want to ask a couple questions. One, as it relates to county employment, when there is a promulgated list of candidates for either promotion or for hiring, And then there's a freeze, whether soft or hard freeze with hiring. Why is it that the list does not freeze as well? That way those who are on the list, you know, still have an opportunity once this soft or hard so-called list is, I mean, freeze is removed and they can navigate accordingly. And then secondly, just to let you know, The cat issue still remains the same, but I'm just not going to bother you all with it anymore. And other than that, happy Juneteenth, and thank you for the meeting.

Thank you. Madam Chair, there are no other remote speakers to address the board. Remote participation for general public comment is concluded. We will go to our in-person speakers. Please begin.

We would like to thank you for your continued support for the county DVSS, DVSFA, and DVSBP programs, which support one of our most vulnerable populations. We are grateful that this funding continues. However, we come before you today because of expected impact to HUD's suspension of loss of funds we'll have for 1736 Family Crisis Center and the rest of the homeless service providers community. 1736 Family Crisis Center holds three HUD contracts recently renewed for fiscal year 25. and totaling approximately $1.3 million that may now be in jeopardy due to the loss of suspension. This is added loss in addition to the funding loss approximately of $1.4 million we have currently experienced because of the county pulling Measure A funding from LASA prior to its suspension. The current devastation of our homeless continuum of care created by these funding losses will be a great.

Thank you. Next speaker, please.

Dear county supervisors, my comments relate to operational accountability, election administration, workforce culture, transparency, and public trust. MY NAME IS ROBERT. I RECENTLY WORKED WITH LOS ANGELES COUNTY ELECTION OPERATIONS ACROSS SEVERAL ASSIGNMENTS AND I APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY TO OBSERVE ELECTION INTEGRITY SYSTEMS FUNCTIONING IN REAL TIME. WHAT CONCERNED ME WAS THAT RESPECTFULLY ASKING OPERATIONAL AND ACCOUNTABILITY RELATED QUESTIONS I ENCOUNTERED HOSTILITY THAT ULTIMATELY RESULTED IN INDETERMINATION OF MY ASSIGNMENT EVEN THOUGH I REMAINED WILLING TO CONTINUE WORKING WITHIN THE ELECTION PROCESS. WHAT MADE That difficult to reconcile was that human resources contacted me the very next day and asked me to return to another operational role under the same classification. I asked questions because I cared about the integrity of the process. Institutions improve when people are not treated negatively for respectfully asking accountability related questions.

Thank you. Next speaker, please.

Rogelio Martinez, candidate for District 4 Board of Supervisors. Here's three other income-generating recommendations that I have. Restarting the Carson and Wilmington oil refineries, which were previously operated by P66. Why would I propose such a thing? Well, this would lower people's gasoline cost, when right now gasoline is about $7 a gallon. Next, restarting the power plant previously operated by Covanta. This power plant produced up to 35 megawatts through the Trash to Energy program. And then lastly, repurpose vacant county-owned assets, which were mentioned today. These buildings, which are vacant, could be utilized as data centers that are one needed and would provide revenue for our county. Thank you so much. God bless each and every one of you.

Thank you. Next speaker, please.

Good morning. It is an honor to be before you guys. I just wanted to make a touch of base. I am so honored to be in LA and working among the communities, the very dispersed and diverse communities, both dispersed and diverse, in ideological positions, in what we need, I think, between communities. What I'm finding is very centered in our identity as Americans, and especially amidst tumultuous times. I'm learning about Tom Bradley and just very, very feeling the wind of that inspired perspective on American unity and togetherness and working towards a stronger Los Angeles. Thank you, guys, and God bless.

Thank you. Next speaker, please.

Hi, Octavio Ortiz, that individual that complains a lot. Call me Karen. Yeah, so thank you for listening. As you can see, my attitude is completely different. A lot of issues were cleared up. But also, too, I want to thank, in another way, in regards to an idea I have, which I'm going to put together. You know, I have to pay an attorney to put the idea and all the complex end of it. But I will start with L.A. County because it's just easy. It's not that difficult to fix a lot of the issues and bring jobs to the to the county, and I will be presenting the idea to Elda Solis, and just wanted to let you know, and also thank you. I know everybody works together, but the listening.

Thank you, next speaker please.

Yes ma'am, go ahead.

Supervisors, I was stopped earlier when I named... Pull the mic up closer so we can hear you. Judge Ahmaud Saffron of Department 404 for violating WIC 362.1. I was told this is personal. It is not personal. It is federal. L.A. County claims Title IV-E fundings under 42 U.S.C. 670 for cases in Department 404. Federal law 45 CFR 1356.21 requires WIC 362.1 findings to get that money. I am now completing my public comment for the record. Good morning, supervisors. My name is Michelle. Edith Rosser, aka Michelle Edith Walker, from District 2. I am here for case CK97904C, heard by Judge Ahmad Safran in Department 404 at Edmund D. Edelman Children's Court, Monterey Park. I am here to report. Thank you. Next speaker, please.

Hello. Just want to let everybody know it's the month of June. We recognize fathers. So happy Father's Day to all the males. for raising children that were yours or not, for all the women who had to wear both hats as single mothers. I do have my planner here because I have to be inclusive to the clients that I assist who do not use technology and they still use calendars like this, flyers like this to get people's votes Cards to go vote for the next Los Angeles County Sheriff. Walking cards to put in your mailbox, hoping they don't get shot because we're still not safe in LA County.

Thank you. Sahara White, your line is open. Please begin.

Hi, can you hear me?

Yes, go ahead.

Good morning. I'm here again asking for a real enforceable timeline to close Mint Central Jail. The board has already voted for the closure, yet the timeline has been delayed again and again, four or five times now. Meanwhile, people continue to die behind those walls. More than 20 people have died in the county's custody already this year. Closing the MCJ is still the elephant in the room. While you're focused on smaller issues, people are suffering and families are losing loved ones every day. Supervisor Hahn, stop playing with our tax dollars. The people of Los Angeles have already spoken. You have the power, the resources, and the responsibility to get this jail closed immediately. Do your job. Fund the first year of J-6 recommendations. Commit to decarceration now so Men's Central Jail can close permanently within five years with no replacement. Every delay risks another life. Thank you.

Thank you. That concludes the time for general public comment.

We will now move on to adjournments.

Okay, we'll move on in order of four and five. No? Do you have any adjournment? Yes, go ahead.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I move that when we adjourn today, we adjourn in the memory of Julie Wichman Huerta. Julie was a beloved public servant, community leader, friend whose life was defined by compassion, generosity, and commitment to serving others. Julie dedicated 35 years of service to our Port of Los Angeles, and she played an important role in supporting the port and its leadership during a period of tremendous growth and transformation. Beyond her professional accomplishments, Julie devoted more than 20 years of service to the San Pedro YWCA, where she served on the board of directors and as president in the early 2000s and again for 2012 until her passing. Julie believed deeply in helping others and lovingly gave so much of her time, talent, and leadership to support women, children, families throughout the Harbor area. At the heart of her longstanding service was her compassion, which knew no bounds. She refused to just sit on the sidelines while people struggled. Instead, Julie rolled up her sleeves and through her hard work, dedication and advocacy, she helped improve the lives of countless individuals and became a cherished member of the YWCA family. Julie didn't do it for the accolades. She did it because she cared so deeply for the women and families the YWCA serves. She was a fixture at the YWCA and had a special way of making each person who walked through those doors feel welcome. She had a calm confidence about her, but also a lighthearted sense of humor that could make just about anyone laugh. Julie is survived by her daughters, Gail and Kylie, two granddaughters, two sisters, brothers, and many friends. I include myself as one of those. She will be greatly missed by all who are fortunate enough to know her, but her legacy of compassion and selfless service will live in our hearts. Rest in peace, Julie. I move that when we adjourn today, we also adjourn in memory of Ken Dyda, who was a founding father of the city of Rancho Palos Verdes. He was a dedicated public servant, an aerospace engineer, and a tireless community advocate who passed away at the age of 94. A New Jersey native, Ken moved to the Palos Verdes Peninsula in 1961 and went on to play a pivotal role in the successful incorporation of Rancho Palos Verdes in 1973. As co-founder of the Save Our Coastline Movement, he helped lead the grassroots effort that gave residents local control over land use and development and shape the future of the community for generations to come. And he loved to always remind me that when they were doing their incorporation, I guess my dad cast the third vote to make sure that they could become incorporated. And he loved to include me in the history of that city. He was elected to the city's first ever city council. He would go on to serve a total of 18 years on the council, including two years as mayor. His influence can be seen throughout Rancho Palos Verdes. He helped develop many of the city's foundational policies and ordinances, including protections that preserve the peninsula's scenic views and community character. He was a steadfast advocate for residents, a champion for addressing the challenges posed by the Portuguese Bend landslide, and a trusted mentor whose knowledge of the city's history and governments guided generations of local leaders. In recognition of his extraordinary service, the city renamed its Civic Center in his honor. Beyond his civic contributions, Ken had a distinguished 35-year career in the aerospace industry with the North American Aviation, Boeing, and Northrop Grumman. His work earned him recognition on the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum's Wall of Honor. Ken remained deeply engaged in the life of Rancho Palos Verdes long after leaving elected office, continuing to share his wisdom, preserve the city's history, and advocate for the community that he helped create. His vision, his leadership, and commitment to the public service leave a lasting legacy that will continue to shape Rancho Palos Verdes for generations. Ken was preceded in death by his wife, Nancy. He is survived by his son, Bruce, his daughter, Beverly, granddaughters, Melinda and Megan, great granddaughters, Caitlin and Emily, and many friends, colleagues, and residents whose lives were touched by his decades of service. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I move that when we adjourn today, we do so in memory of Heidi Louise Cook, a cherished member of the Charter Oak community who passed away peacefully at the age of 66 after a courageous battle with cancer. In 1981, she married her husband, Mark, and together they built their family and their life in the Charter Oak neighborhood, rooted in faith, love, and community. She earned her bachelor's degree from Cal Poly Pomona and later a master's degree in education from Azusa Pacific University. Education was Heidi's lifelong passion. For 28 years, Heidi inspired elementary students at the Charter Oak School District. Her dedication earned her a nomination for the Charter Oak Foundation Hall of Fame, recognizing the impact she made on students, families, and colleagues. Above all, Heidi adored her family. She was a loving wife for 44 years, a proud mother of four, and a delighted grandmother of six. She'll be remembered for her kindness, her unwavering commitment to education, and the lasting difference she made in the lives of so many. Heidi is survived by her husband, Mark, and their children, Kyle, Natalie, Candace, and Jonathan. Also that we adjourn in memory of Dorothy Ann Cleary Hoffman of Sierra Madre, who passed away peacefully at the age of 99 on May 2nd, 2026. Born on August 4th, 1926 in Oak Park, Illinois, She grew up surrounded by her beloved siblings. In 1947, she married Lathrop Hoffman, her partner for 66 years until his passing in 2014. Together, they raised eight children who often say they won the parent lottery. Dorothy had the gift of making everyone feel welcomed. She was a caring wife, a devoted mother, grandmother, and a steady presence in the Sierra Madre community. She volunteered in schools at Santa Teresa Hospital, at St. Rita's Church, served as a guardian ad litem for children in the Los Angeles County court system, and frequently hosted gatherings for the League of Women Voters. She's remembered for her kindness, curiosity, and unwavering support of her family. She's preceded in death by her son, Tim Hoffman, and her husband, Lathrop. Dorothy is survived by her children, Mary Fahey, Peter Hoffman, Mike Hoffman, Elizabeth Hoffman, Tom Hoffman, Marguerite Winnicott, and Patricia Jewett. Also that we adjourn in memory of Daniel Patrick Souder Jr., a longtime Claremont resident who passed away on June 1st. He was born in Chicago and attended the University of Notre Dame. He worked in the food service industry throughout the Midwest before finally settling in Claremont in the early 1970s. He quickly became a true friend to many, a mentor, a familiar face who helped shape the character of downtown Claremont. In 1973, he opened the Danson Restaurant in Claremont and later owned a Mexican restaurant in Pomona. Over the next five decades, his warmth and commitment to hospitality made him one of the most respected and recognizable figures in Claremont Village. Even in retirement, He stayed closely connected to the community that he loved. He participated in a morning breakfast club that meant six days a week in the village, where he enjoyed what he called helping solve the world's problems. He was preceded in death by his brothers, Douglas and Dennis, and his beloved son, Christopher. He survived by his wife, Zahra, his siblings, Del, Elizabeth, and Barbara, and his children, Jennifer, Daniel, Stephanie, Alisa, Ryan, and Kristen. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you. We'll take all those into consideration without objection. Let us now go into closed session. Executive Officer.

MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC, THE BOARD WILL NOW BE GOING INTO CLOSED SESSION IN ACCORDANCE WITH BROWN ACT REQUIREMENTS. NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS WILL CONVENE IN CLOSED SESSION TO DISCUSS ITEM NUMBER CS9, CONFERENCE WITH LEGAL COUNSEL REGARDING ANTICIPATED LITIGATION, ONE CASE, AND ITEM NUMBER CS12, CONFERENCE WITH LABOR NEGOTIATORS JOSEPH AND NIKITA AND DESIGNATED STAFF AS INDICATED ON THE POSTED AGENDA.

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Okay. Okay, we are back in executive officer, please read us in. Please give us an. Well, we're back in open session executive officer please read the report of action.

The following is a report of action taken in closed session on June 16, 2026. Item number CS9, conference with legal counsel regarding anticipated litigation in one case. No reportable action was taken. And item number CS12, conference with labor negotiators, Joseph M. Nikita, and designated staff. No reportable action was taken.

Great, that concludes today's meeting. The next meeting of the board will be a special meeting on fiscal year 2026, 27, budget deliberations that will be held on Monday, June 22nd, 2026 at 9.30 a.m. And happy June 10th. Yay, hallelujah. Thank you. Meeting adjourned.

Thank you.