Berkeley council accepts auditor's recommendations on Homeless Response Team as staff warn of looming funding cliff

The Berkeley City Council on Sept. 16 accepted a city auditor's report that found gaps in the Homeless Response Team's coordination, data access and public reporting, while city staff warned that programs that have driven recent gains are at risk if temporary state and federal funding expires.

The auditor's office, led by City Auditor Jenny Wong, presented an audit covering 2022'2024 that recommended clearer written procedures for coordinating with outside service providers, improved access to shared county data systems, and more outcome-focused reporting. "HRT works in partnership with other city departments and divisions to respond to encampments operating in both an outreach and enforcement role," Wong said, noting the HRT did not gain access to the county's Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) until December 2022 and to coordinated entry assessments until September 2024.

The report highlighted several data points to show the scale and constraints of the local response. The auditor cited the January 2024 point-in-time count showing 844 people experiencing homelessness in Berkeley in a single night and noted that, in August 2024, Berkeley had about 320 shelter beds while demand exceeded supply. The audit also found that, during the audit period, HRT could directly refer people to only 56 of those 320 shelter beds, leaving many placements controlled by the Alameda County Continuum of Care.

City staff framed the audit findings in operational context and pressed the urgency of sustainable funding. Peter Radu of Neighborhood Services and Josh Jacobs, the city's Homeless Services coordinator, said the city's strategy ' prevention, interim housing and permanent supportive housing ' has shown measurable gains but depends heavily on temporary dollars. "Since 2019, Berkeley has seen a 45% drop in unsheltered homelessness," Jacobs said, adding that many of the interventions that produced those gains ' including motel-based, noncongregate interim housing and Homekey conversions ' operate on limited-term state and federal grants.

Staff detailed the funding picture: the city has committed tens of millions in local measures and leveraged state grants to create units, but faces a structural general fund gap the presentation described as on the order of $20,000,000 annually. The presentation said the city needs roughly $9,000,000 annually to sustain the existing programs cited as most at risk if outside funding is not replaced.

Public commenters voiced a mix of praise and concern. Business and neighborhood representatives urged more transparent public dashboards on beds and outcomes and supported continued investments in privacy-oriented interim shelters. People with lived experience and advocacy groups pressed the city for greater involvement of unhoused residents in planning, clearer accounting of encampment-closure costs, and better communication about how shelter placements are allocated. A speaker for the Berkeley Homeless Union said outreach workers reported gaps in the audit's documentation and alleged favoritism in bed allocation; the audit and staff responses noted coordination gaps but did not substantiate individual-level favoritism.

Council members questioned staff and the auditor about specific recommendations, staffing, county coordination and costs. Staff confirmed HRT has three authorized FTEs (two filled), that legal work consumes an estimated 10% of HRT-related staff time, and that the city is actively engaging Alameda County about Measure W funding and referral policy. The city manager said staff had submitted a letter to the county outlining Berkeley's needs and that the city is preparing a draft list of alternate shelter sites to return to the council in October.

After discussion, a councilmember moved to accept the auditor's recommendations; the motion was seconded and passed without recorded opposition. The city manager noted a correction to the staff response: instead of starting quarterly performance reports the city will provide biannual reports beginning Oct. 31, 2025. The council recorded acceptance of the audit, with that amendment.

What's next: the auditor recommended six actions including documenting coordination procedures, expanding outcome reporting (for example, coordinated-entry assessments and shelter enrollments), using a shared mapping tool and assessing staffing needs to implement these changes. Staff said they agreed with the findings and proposed an implementation plan that includes formalizing internal workflows, resuming case conferences and publishing performance reports in a more accessible format. The city also signaled it will continue to press the county for Measure W allocations and return in October with a draft list of potential shelter/leasing sites.

The council adjourned after accepting the report.

Note on attribution: direct quotes and paraphrases in this article are taken from the council meeting presentations and public comment period and are attributed to named speakers where the transcript identifies them. Unattributed descriptions are summaries of discussion recorded in the meeting transcript.