Sacramento County pitches elected-led Homeless and Housing Board to coordinate regional strategy

Emily Halkin, director of Sacramento County’s Department of Homeless Services and Housing, told the Citrus Heights City Council on Sept. 10 that the county is proposing a Sacramento Homeless and Housing Board (SHHB) to provide elected-official oversight and strategic direction for the regional Continuum of Care.

Halkin said the model would preserve local jurisdiction over land-use and funding decisions while elevating elected officials’ role in setting goals, performance targets and funding priorities. She described the federal Continuum of Care (CoC) framework — membership, a CoC board that oversees funding applications, point-in-time counts and the Homeless Management Information System, and an administrative “collaborative applicant” — and said Sacramento’s current structure blurs those roles. “We’re looking for more transparency in our work and for stronger actions that reflect the urgency of this complex issue,” Halkin said.

Halkin said the CoC currently oversees just over $40,000,000 in federal funds and additional state HAP allocations. The county’s proposal would retain Sacramento Steps Forward (SSF) as the collaborative applicant and HMIS lead, she said, while creating a smaller, elected-led board advised by a broader CoC membership and technical subcommittees. Two membership options were presented: a smaller elected-heavy board and a larger board with set-aside community sector seats and at least one seat reserved for a person with lived experience.

Council members welcomed parts of the proposal but pressed for concrete performance measures, faster data and clear cost information. Council member Schaeffer said past multi-agency bodies had produced limited actionable results and criticized delays in the point-in-time reporting. “By the time we get the information, we could have acted on or seen a result,” she said, urging smaller working groups and measurable indicators. Halkin responded that some reporting delays stem from federal collection practices but that SSF’s HMIS dashboards and staff work are producing more real-time inflow-and-outflow data.

Vice Mayor Lopez Taft and other members asked how much money would be routed to administrative support and whether cities would be expected to contribute funding. Halkin said the county is not requesting city contributions now and recommended retaining SSF as the lead applicant and fiduciary. She also said the county envisions the SHHB holding Brown Act public meetings, posting agendas and providing minutes to increase transparency.

Halkin outlined next steps: county staff will meet with remaining cities through early October, seek signals of participation by the end of the calendar year, and work with participating entities to draft an MOU and bylaws for eventual formal appointment; if all goes as planned, the board could be seated as early as the second quarter of next year. She asked Citrus Heights staff and council for input on the two representation options and for perspectives on subcommittee structure.