COG presents scenarios for Los Angeles County ‘Measure A’ Local Solutions Fund; West Covina COG board favors scenario that includes poverty metric

Caitlin Sims, manager of local programs for the San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments, briefed the West Covina City Council on March 18 about allocation scenarios the County of Los Angeles will use for the Measure A Local Solutions Fund, a portion of the half‑cent Measure A sales tax approved by county voters.

Sims said Measure A takes effect April 1 and directs that 60 percent of its half‑cent sales tax proceeds be used for homelessness services; 15 percent of that homelessness allocation is designated as a Local Solutions Fund for cities and councils of governments to design locally tailored homelessness programs. The county estimates roughly $96 million could be available to the Local Solutions Fund in fiscal year 2025–26, Sims said.

The county developed six allocation scenarios. Scenarios 1–3 rely exclusively or predominantly on the annual point‑in‑time count of people experiencing homelessness; scenario 3 included a county‑administered 10 percent incentive pot. Scenarios 4–6 add other metrics such as the share of deeply impoverished households, local affordable‑housing production and combined indices.

Sims said the San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments governing board recommended scenario 4 because it would moderate year‑to‑year volatility inherent in point‑in‑time counts and would recognize a broader set of local needs. Under scenario 4 the Local Solutions Fund would be allocated primarily by point‑in‑time counts while allocating a portion—proposed at 10 percent—to jurisdictions’ shares of deeply impoverished households (households with income under $10,000), Sims said. The COG recommended capping allocations based on that impoverishment metric at about 10 percent in the initial distribution, she added.

Sims cautioned that numbers released by the county were preliminary and subject to change; she said final county figures were expected later that week or the following week. She also said the COG had been analyzing which scenario would provide the most stable and equitable funding for the San Gabriel Valley as a whole and that local cities could consider taking a formal position on the recommended scenario.

No council vote on the COG recommendation was recorded at the March 18 meeting; Sims told council there was an action related to the Local Solutions Fund on the meeting agenda later that night but the council transcript does not show a separate city council decision about Measure A during the portion of the meeting reviewed for this report.