Don’t search for California to do a lot within the subsequent three years to deal with its homelessness disaster. Not until Gov. Gavin Newsom and lawmakers make a serious shift of their priorities.
The sobering price range forecast reported Wednesday by the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Workplace makes that clear.
The state’s fiscal advisor estimates that the governor and the Legislature will face a $25 billion deficit for the upcoming fiscal yr. And that forecast doesn’t keep in mind the potential impression of hovering inflation charges that would add an extra $30 to $50 billion to the deficit.
The state may also anticipate the price range deficits to proceed for the subsequent three fiscal years.
Give the governor credit score for anticipating the downturn in state revenues and vetoing various payments this yr that might have added billions in state spending. The choice to allocate billions in reserves will even assist ease the ache of the anticipated deficits.
However the one manner California can work its manner out of its homelessness problem is to develop vital, ongoing funding applications that present long-term, predictable income streams. Bay Space cities and counties merely don’t have the funding to deal with the issue on their very own.
Pinning the blame on cities and counties for not doing sufficient to resolve the disaster — because the governor did Nov. 3 — is unfair. So is the implication that San Jose isn’t correctly utilizing its homelessness funding, as state Sen. Dave Cortese, D-San Jose, did earlier this month.
Newsom just lately backed off his risk to withhold $1 billion of state funding as a result of metropolis and county plans wouldn’t do sufficient to cut back homelessness. Altogether, the plans indicated that the $1 billion funding would solely scale back homelessness by 2% statewide.
That’s not stunning, provided that the cash can be distributed all through California’s 58 counties and 13 largest cities. The $1 billion allocation can be the third by the state since 2020. That will sound like some huge cash, however San Jose’s share, for instance, so far, has been about $35 million.
Each little bit helps, but when the governor needs a critical discount of homelessness on his watch, he’s going to need to match ongoing spending that is the same as his expectations.
Oakland, for instance, forecasts the variety of folks on the road will enhance 28% between 2020 and 2024 even with the anticipated state funds.
Alameda County officers estimate that it could take $2.5 billion to finish homelessness by 2026. San Jose and Santa Clara County face related challenges. But Alameda County is anticipating solely $23 million from the subsequent spherical of state homelessness prevention funds. Santa Clara County would obtain roughly the identical quantity.
The governor and lawmakers can have a serious problem subsequent yr in setting the state price range. But when they wish to see a big discount in homelessness, they should assist cities and counties create the continuing supply of funding to make it occur.
