San Jose City Council on Dec. 16 approved a package of staff recommendations and a council's group memo aimed at moving the city's emergency interim housing system from rapid expansion to operational optimization.

The measures extend existing grant agreements for homeless-response programs through June 30, 2026, and ask staff to prioritize cost reductions in areas such as centralized food services, security and property management. Eric Sullivan, the city's Director of Housing, said the city has identified savings of about 20% in security and is pursuing similar efficiencies in food and property management contracting.

The council also asked staff to develop a public dashboard that will report bed utilization, exits and outcome metrics so the council and public can track whether people leaving interim housing require continued supports. "We need to know when people exit our system what those outcomes are," Mayor Mahan said during discussion of the group memo.

Councilmember Campos offered a substitute motion that revised a recommendation to require the city manager to report back in the third quarter of fiscal year 2025'26 with an assessment of "no-encampment" zones and the city's outreach programs, including any budget implications. Campos said the change gives staff time to analyze resource implications while keeping the council's transparency and accountability goals intact.

The council recorded unanimous support for the motion. No new contract awards were finalized at the meeting; staff said contract amendments and further procurement actions will follow the direction given by council and be brought back as required.

Why it matters: San Jose has rapidly expanded interim housing capacity in recent months; the actions seek to preserve gains while improving oversight and public transparency of outcomes and spending. The council emphasized that optimization, not blanket expansion, must guide the next budget cycle.

What's next: Staff will implement the dashboard elements described in the group memo, pursue ongoing procurement steps for centralized services, and return with the manager's report and any necessary budget items in the timeline directed by council.