Councilwoman Rodriguez opposes $126 million homelessness funding backed by Nithya Raman

Los Angeles City Council members voted to lock in about $126 million for homelessness programs, financing temporary tiny-home villages, hygiene services, outreach teams, staffing and Mayor Karen Bass’ Inside Safe initiative that relocates people from encampments to interim housing. Monica Rodriguez was the lone dissenting voice, arguing that the funding continues to support a system that has not delivered measurable results despite years of record spending.

She singled out councilmember Nithya Raman, chair of the Housing and Homelessness Committee and mayoral candidate, for endorsing the same policies she has previously criticized. Rodriguez pointed to her own northeast San Fernando Valley district, where a different strategy has reportedly cleared RV encampments and placed residents into permanent homes more efficiently. The package channels nearly $55 million of Measure A county sales-tax revenue and $17.9 million in advance funding for the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority’s role in Inside Safe, even as the agency faces a federal probe and the county moves to withdraw from the joint homelessness authority. Rodriguez urged both city and county officials to provide clearer accountability for the substantial taxpayer contributions.