A meeting meant to settle who controls Los Angeles County's homeless services system ended almost as soon as it began Friday, October 9, with the Los Angeles Continuum of Care's general membership adjourning roughly two minutes after gaveling in without casting a single vote. The abrupt halt leaves unresolved a dispute between the city of Los Angeles and Los Angeles County over which government should run federal funding applications, data systems, and the annual homeless count.
According to MyNewsLA.com, meeting organizers were unprepared to accommodate the large crowd that showed up seeking to participate, forcing the session to close before the planned vote on a proposal that would have handed Los Angeles County control of key administrative functions for regional homelessness programs. The Continuum of Care did not announce a new meeting date immediately, though officials said another session would be scheduled and encouraged residents, business owners, advocates, and service providers to attend when it happens.
What the County Is Trying to Take Over
The fight centers on four core administrative roles that keep the region's homelessness response running: Collaborative Applicant, HMIS Lead, CES Management Entity, and PIT Count Administrator, according to losangelescoc.org. The Continuum of Care is responsible for coordinating regional homelessness programs and federal funding, managing homelessness data, and coordinating housing placements across the county. Los Angeles County is seeking all four of those roles, while the city is seeking two of them, the outlet reports.
The dispute traces back to September 15, when the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority announced it would not continue as the region's lead agency on those duties starting next year, per the same account. The functions LAHSA is stepping back from include coordinating the annual application for federal funding with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, overseeing the Homeless Management Information System, and handling the Coordinated Entry System, according to the Daily News. The CoC Board had already approved releasing the FY 2027 Administrative Lead Entity Functions request for qualifications on September 11.
City Hall Pushes Back
Mayor Karen Bass and four city council members — Marqueece Harris-Dawson, Ysabel Jurado, Tim McOsker, and Imelda Padilla — have criticized the proposal to shift those administrative responsibilities entirely to the county, calling instead for shared city-county oversight of homelessness programs. The officials argued that Los Angeles spends hundreds of millions of dollars on housing but currently lacks sufficient authority to determine who occupies the housing it funds and builds, and they said the city must retain a role in decisions about housing placements going forward.
City officials have framed the governance fight as a matter of proportional control, arguing the structure should reflect how much Los Angeles contributes financially to homelessness programs and housing. Bass and the four council members have also criticized the existing placement process, saying the current county-only administration proposal would leave the city without adequate say over who moves into units it funds.
County Already Moving Ahead With Its Own Agency
Even as the governance vote stalled, Los Angeles County has been building out a parallel homelessness bureaucracy. The county created its own Department of Homeless Services and Housing after the Board of Supervisors voted in April 2025 to effectively withdraw from the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, a joint-powers authority created by the courts in 1993, according to the Daily News. The county has since moved roughly $300 million away from LAHSA and taken over oversight of services and payments to nonprofit street-outreach providers, and it intends to take over the annual point-in-time homeless count along with other duties LAHSA has relinquished.
The new county department carries an $843 million budget for the 2026-27 fiscal year, according to NBC Los Angeles. The plan funds 3,671 time-limited subsidies meant to quickly provide housing support along with 3,675 rental subsidies for people already in permanent supportive housing, and it sets aside $16 million specifically for oversight and transparency. Much of that spending is expected to be backed by Measure A, the half-cent sales tax projected to generate $1 billion annually for homeless programs countywide. The department is expected to provide housing, manage rental assistance, and conduct outreach to people experiencing homelessness.
Conflicting Signals on Who Leads for Now
Accounts differ on LAHSA's immediate status. MyNewsLA reported that judges ruled LAHSA would remain the lead agency overseeing the Continuum of Care's four major roles while the region prepares its federal funding application, and that the agency's core work includes maintaining the data and entry systems providers rely on daily and preparing for January's 2027 Point-in-Time Count. The Daily News, however, reported that LAHSA voted not to continue its role as lead agency on those federal duties, including the annual homeless count. Hoodline could not independently confirm which account reflects the current operative court status.
Separately, the Los Angeles City Council has directed high-level staff to ensure the city applies for the Continuum of Care's 2027 request-for-qualifications process, according to Westside Current. The Continuum of Care's 21-member board still operates under rules requiring general membership approval to finalize any new collaborative applicant, per losangelescoc.org. With Friday's meeting adjourned before a vote could take place, when the general membership will reconvene to settle the matter remains unknown.
