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Murrieta Council Approves Short‑Term Homeless Outreach Funding as Staff Warn of Looming Cuts
Summary
The Murrieta City Council unanimously approved a budget adjustment to fund homeless street outreach and emergency sheltering through December, while staff warned that regional grants could drop sharply and urged a collaborative, long‑term funding plan before county and state funds lapse.
Murrieta — The City Council on Sept. 16 approved an interim budget adjustment to continue homeless street outreach and emergency sheltering services through December after staff warned that federal, state and county grant funding could be reduced or end.
City Services Director Brian Ambrose told the council the action would appropriate funds “for homeless street outreach and emergency sheltering services retroactive to the beginning of this fiscal year through December,” and said the one‑time action “should kick start a conversation about long‑term funding of the program.”
Ambrose said Murrieta has led a regional system launched in 2017 that includes CityNet case management, emergency sheltering by Project Touch, a four‑member community policing team and a behavioral health partner. He cited statewide point‑in‑time figures (about 187,000 people in California in 2024, with roughly 87,000 in the Greater Los Angeles region) and said the Regional Homeless Alliance (RHA) region’s unsheltered count fell from 183 in 2017 to 142 in 2025. “We are one of the few cities that have reached and maintained 0 functional homeless,” Ambrose said, adding the city sheltered 214 people last year, including 48 children.
The presentation stressed cost and sustainability concerns. Ambrose said agreements for emergency sheltering, case management and street outreach cost the city up to $90,000 per month and that Murrieta has used grants (including ARPA and other state programs) that together totaled about $2.2 million since 2019. He also said county encampment resolution funds were awarded to the region but that much of the money is administered at the county level and eligibility limits mean some Murrieta clients may be ineligible.
Council members pressed staff on contingency plans and the county’s role. Mayor Pro Tem Lavelle and Council Member Stone both praised the program; Stone told Ambrose, “I think you walk on water,” and called the local model one other cities want to emulate. Ambrose cautioned the council that some funding streams could be cut “up to a 100%,” and said the encampment resolution dollars are expected to be available only through June 2027 unless new arrangements are made.
Members and speakers repeatedly urged a regional approach to sustain services. Ambrose and others noted that when the point‑in‑time counts are viewed regionally — Murrieta, Temecula, Lake Elsinore, Wildomar and Menifee — the area has seen a net decrease since 2017, but the city’s success can reduce grant awards distributed by formula.
Public commenters supported continued funding. Resident Cassin Klein urged council action and recommended beginning a regional collaborative; Anne Unmock (Project Touch) described recent rapid shelter placements after police calls and said the collaborative response shortens officer time on calls and produces faster placements.
The council voted unanimously to carry the appropriation request. The staff presentation noted that, if grants do not materialize, staff would return with recommendations for continuing funding past December.
