County board directs staff to pursue new homeless governance model, gives fallback if CoC declines

The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Dec. 9 to direct county staff to pursue a staff‑recommended governance model intended to increase elected‑official involvement and accountability for the region’s homelessness system, while giving staff authority to convene a separate Sacramento Homeless and Housing Board if the Continuum of Care (CoC) or partner cities decline to reconstitute themselves.

The staff recommendation, based on a months‑long review and a report by Mosaic Solutions and Advocacy, calls for reconstituting the CoC so that elected officials from the county, the city of Sacramento and suburban cities hold a majority of voting seats. That change, staff said, is designed to improve transparency, make it easier to align funding and priorities across jurisdictions, and preserve federally mandated CoC functions while elevating regional policymaking.

Mosaic consultants Matt Kate and Darby Kernan told the board the current governance structure has produced “difficulty in getting information to move vertically” and recommended either reconstituting the CoC or establishing a new elected leadership board if the CoC does not agree. “Adding representatives from the board of supervisors, the city of Sacramento and an elected official from…