County pitches new Homeless and Housing Board to give elected leaders more control over homelessness policy

Sacramento County officials on Oct. 7 presented a proposed regional governance model that would merge Continuum of Care duties with an elected Homeless and Housing Board to set strategy, performance targets and funding priorities for homelessness and housing across the county.

The presentation, given by Emily Halkin, director of the Department of Homeless Services and Housing for Sacramento County, laid out a design that keeps local governments’ land-use authority and local funding control while creating a top-level board comprised primarily of elected officials advised by a broader Continuum of Care (CoC) membership and staffed subcommittees.

Halkin told the Galt City Council that the model “seeks to retain local jurisdictional control of existing funding that you might oversee for both homelessness and housing” while creating “some very purposeful space for local elected leaders to really drive that policy direction and set strategic vision.” She described the current CoC structure as having a large 32-member appointed board and recommended a smaller, action-oriented board of elected officials with structured subcommittees that include providers, business and faith leaders and people with lived experience.

Why it matters: County officials said the change is intended to address fragmentation—multiple boards and differing policy directions across local governments—and to make it easier to braid homelessness funding with other county-run services such as behavioral health and child welfare. The county’s approach seeks to preserve the administrative role of Sacramento Steps Forward (SSF) as the collaborative applicant and HMIS lead while creating more direct direction from elected officials.

Key elements and options: The county outlined two composition options: an up-to-10-member board (two county supervisors, two Sacramento City Council members and one representative from the other six cities) plus one lived-experience seat; and a larger up-to-15-member option that adds up to four community seats (business, law enforcement, health care, etc.). Halkin said staff prefer preserving strong community voice through subcommittees even if the new board is primarily elected.

Council response and next steps: Council members in Galt generally favored the larger, 15-seat option (option B) because it would add community seats for business and law enforcement. Several council members and the mayor emphasized prevention, behavioral-health integration and the county’s responsibility for many services that affect homelessness. Council members stressed that small cities need representation because Sacramento bears most of the unsheltered population.

Halkin said county staff are collecting input from city councils, will report back to the Board of Supervisors and then develop memoranda of understanding or partnership agreements; the target to seat a board would be 2026 if jurisdictions agree. She also emphasized the proposal does not change land-use approvals or require cities to fund new staff but said a consultant and transitional staffing could be used in the first year or two.

Public-safety and cross-jurisdictional issues: Council members raised practical questions about services and site-based projects, including whether Galt’s small population and its position near a county line (where encampments can move across jurisdictions) would affect siting decisions. County staff said land-use approvals would remain with cities and the board would not usurp zoning authority.

What was not decided: The council provided direction and input but took no formal vote. County staff said they will compile feedback from cities and return to the Board of Supervisors.

Ending: County staff invited further input and offered follow-up meetings. Halkin said the county is seeking comments from all 8 elected jurisdictions in Sacramento County before final recommendations go to the Board of Supervisors.