2/10/25
To Mayor and City Council:
In order to fully study the relationship between the homelessness issue and the city budget, at a minimum city staff need to be directed to answer the following questions.
These questions should be answered with data for the last two years and with projections for the next 5 years.
1) How many homeless individuals are living or will be living on the street? 2) How many newly homeless persons are projected to go on to the streets each year?
3) How many of those projected to be newly homeless will be able to avoid becoming homeless as a result of new city programs? What are those programs, and what will they cost?
4) How many homeless persons have moved to or will move to housing of the following types:
*Market rate housing
*Permanent Supportive Housing (subsidized).
*Temporary shelter – tiny homes
*Temporary shelter – RV Zone
*Temporary shelter – congregate housing
*Temporary shelter – city managed tent encampment
*Temporary shelter -other type
5) What will be the annual cost to the city for each of the housing types listed in question 4?
6) What is the source of funding to pay the costs noted in the response to question 5?
7) How many of the homeless in temporary shelters have transitioned or will transition to longer term housing situations each year? Please provide numbers for each type of transition:
*To Market Rate Housing
*To Permanent Supportive Housing (subsidized). Please indicate the source of funding for these PSH units if Measure E funds are dedicated to temporary shelters.
* To another geographic locality (Please provide a “net” number – the number leaving San Jose to another location minus the number who return and the number sent from other locations to San Jose.)
*To a Residential Treatment facility
* Other situation
8) If homeless persons do not transition from temporary housing out to other longer- term housing, is there a time limit after which they will be required to leave the temporary facility? Once they leave, are these people included in the numerical response to question 2.
9) How long is each type of temporary shelter supposed to stay in place and operate in a specific neighborhood? If this time period is less than 5 years, how many temporary facilities will be needed to replace the ones that are closed? What will the development of new temporary facilities cost?
10) If the city closes encampments or parking RV’s in certain areas and there are no alternative housing options available for the displaced persons, is there any reason why these persons should not be included in the number of homeless people indicated in question 1?
11) City officials often state homeless persons will be required to move “inside”. Until there are enough shelter alternatives to house all homeless persons, which of the following strategies does the requirement to move “inside” refer to:
a) Homeless persons will be required to move “inside” when no “inside” options exist.
b) Homeless persons who do not want to move "inside" will be required to take one of the few vacant beds, thereby denying that bed to a homeless person who wants to come “inside” and work to get off of the streets for the long term. 12) If the city requires a homeless person to come “inside” to a shelter, is the city liable for injury or loss that this person experiences or causes at that shelter? How much should the city budget to cover potential liability claims?
Thank you for your attention.
Bob Brownstein
February 10, 2025
Mayor & City Council, et. al
City of San José
200 East Santa Clara Street, 18th Floor
San José, CA 95113
Sent via electronic mail
Equity Principles for the FY 2025-2026 City of San José Budget
Dear Mayor Mahan, Vice Mayor Foley, and City Council,
This letter is being submitted by Sacred Heart Community Service and Silicon Valley Council of Nonprofits, in our role as co-convenors, on behalf of the Racial Equity Action Leadership (REAL) coalition. Please consider our comments regarding the FY26 budget.
As the City of San José faces a potential structural deficit and reacts to a federal administration intent on dismantling immigrant rights, targeting LGBTQ residents, and rolling back supports for communities of color, we urge the City to center equity and justice in its budget decisions.
At a high level, San José must preserve vital services, prioritize the creation of permanent supportive housing, and invest in community-based safety.
As follows are the principles that City leadership and City Council should follow while analyzing the impacts of their budget strategies:
Preserve and prioritize local community-based services for people and communities that are most disadvantaged – The City should not cut essential services, such as those provided through our housing, homelessness, and violence prevention and intervention programs. Decisively protect or even grow services with a demonstrated ability to prevent incarceration, limit police response, and minimize utilization of high cost or inappropriate settings (e.g., congregate shelters, jails, and emergency rooms). In the context of reductions, work to ensure that particular communities (including neighborhoods) and certain providers are not unfairly affected.
REAL Coalition Equity Principles for the FY 2025-2026 City of San José Budget February 10, 2025
Continue to invest in permanent supportive housing and other long-term solutions to homelessness – Pumping millions of dollars into sweeping encampments and towing vehicles will not meaningfully address the root cause of homelessness in San Jose: high housing costs. Shelters do not work without affordable housing–only one quarter of people who moved into shelter in 2023 exited into permanent housing, 75% of whom received support through housing subsidies. We need a balanced approach that makes the largest possible investments in permanent supportive housing while also providing emergency relief and services to unhoused community members. Do not continue to invest in performative sweeps and unsustainable approaches.
Create a strong plan to secure local affordable housing revenue in FY26 – With nearly all Measure E dollars drained, the City is strapped for cash as it attempts to meet its housing goals. In the upcoming fiscal year and beyond, the City should work with the County and community organizations to invest in and plan for near-term housing or general fund revenue measures. Without a plan for more money, we will lose affordable housing projects in the pipeline and exacerbate instability for community members at risk of homelessness.
Apply a robust race equity lens to the current budget process, despite federal threats – The City has already adopted a Racial and Social Equity Ordinance and must align potential cuts with its Equity Values and Standards Policy. San José should not take its foot off the gas in advancing racial equity in its budget and policy decisions; it should sustain investments in economic justice for BIPOC and disadvantaged communities and the organizations that serve them, especially those that build power in those communities and serve them in culturally-specific and relevant ways. Redirect funding to address systemic racism and provide services and community development support for Black and Brown communities targeted by the federal administration. Do not unlearn the lessons we learned in COVID; the communities harmed by the pandemic should be protected as much as possible from the consequences of budget shortfalls, federal overreach, and economic downturns.
Increase investments in prevention and intervention programs – This is the time to shift resources from punitive systems and institutions that disproportionately REAL Coalition Equity Principles for the FY 2025-2026 City of San José Budget February 10, 2025
affect BIPOC communities, and invest in preventative services and community-based crisis response such as TRUST. The City has recently evaluated 911 response models and should meaningfully dedicate funds to non-police alternatives or other crisis intervention and violence prevention pilots. These efforts should be coordinated by dedicated staff or through a new Office of Community-Based Safety.
Create opportunities for meaningful public engagement on the budget to center community voices – The City must be intentional in its community engagement efforts regarding the budget, particularly as it considers cuts that could impact communities relying on City services. The City should also consider leveraging its network of nonprofit partners for outreach to impacted communities. In particular, the City should ensure that historically disenfranchised populations — such as youth, low-income populations, people of color, people with disabilities, those impacted by our justice systems, or undocumented residents — have opportunities to be meaningfully involved in local policy-making. Direct outreach to front-line workers, other elected officials, neighborhood associations, schools, the small business community, and the media should also be included in the City’s community engagement plans. For language access, all budget documentation and community outreach should be provided in, at minimum, the 5 threshold languages (English, Spanish, Tagalog, Vietnamese, and Chinese). Community participation in the budget process will further the City’s stated values to advance equity within its systems.
Be transparent with the community about the relevant details of the budget, historical revenue and expense trends, and the choices to be made – The annual budget is one of the strongest statements of the City’s priorities for the community. Increased public understanding of revenues, expenses, and challenges can lead to greater support for budgetary decisions as well as for measures to increase effective use of local funds. Clear, easy-to-understand budget documents that are in a regularly-updated, centralized repository will make the budget process more accessible to everyone. Consider adding a budget workshop to the current civic engagement Master Class offerings.
REAL Coalition Equity Principles for the FY 2025-2026 City of San José Budget February 10, 2025
Amid a difficult fiscal year, we should work in partnership to protect our City’s most vulnerable residents, collaboratively developing a budget and budget process that seeks greater equity and justice for our community.
You can reach REAL by emailing [email protected].
Sincerely,
SIGNATORIES:
Kyra Kazantzis, Silicon Valley Council of Nonprofits
Poncho Guevara, Sacred Heart Community Service
Darcie Green, Latinas Contra Cancer
Vaughn Villaverde, Asian Americans for Community Involvement (AACI)
About the REAL Coalition
The REAL community of nonprofit leaders and allies has been meeting since June 2020 to use our positional power to advocate for a more racially-just and equitable society; to establish a peer network of leaders committed to fighting white supremacy and systemic racism in ourselves and our institutions; and to hold each other accountable to the promises we made in the Nonprofit Racial Equity Pledge. The REAL Coalition is broadly representative of the nonprofit community including human and community services, behavioral health and health, arts and culture, domestic violence, older adults, food distribution, education, environmental, farming, legal, disability rights, LGTBQ rights, ethnic, immigrant rights, housing and homelessness, criminal justice reform, urban planning, and intermediary organizations, and others. We have 50 organizational members and dozens of affiliate organizations.
Yes on Parks!
February 10, 2025
RE: Council Agenda Feb. 10, 2025, Study Session
Honorable Mayor Mahan, Vice Mayor Foley,
And Councilmembers Kamei, Campos, Salas,
Cohen, Ortiz, Mulcahy, Doan, Candelas, Casey:
San Jose Parks Advocates is an alliance of park passionate people who live in throughout the city. The mission of our park alliance is to champion the public’s interest in outstanding parks, recreation, and open spaces - key to making San Jose a healthy, vibrant and sustainable city for all. Our vision of a great San Jose is one with both great parks and great community and recreation centers. Well-maintained parks connect people to a city and to one another and serve as an economic driver—attracting visitors and increasing property values. Access to a safe, clean, welcoming park is a predictor of health. Spending time in a park lowers blood pressure and increases immunity. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the important role of parks in maintaining mental health was visible to all.
We ask that you prioritize the retention of park maintenance personnel in the upcoming budget cycle.
• Beginning with the “dot com” crash, parks maintenance has suffered major personnel cuts in every downturn. Staffing remains below 2002-03 levels.
• Since FY 2002-03 FTEs have dropped 18% while developed land acres have increased 22%---with new facilities like Arcadia softball complex requiring more intense maintenance as well as increasingly complex wildland/urban interface issues.
• PRNS staff implemented multiple strategies to decrease costs o Removed turf, hedges, and flower beds
o Lowered maintenance performance standards in 2021 to match resources o Introduced “Business Intelligence” (BI) to fine tune personnel allocation o Re-arranged maintenance districts to optimize resources o Introduced high-tech remote sensing irrigation controllers to modify watering to match weather—saving millions of gallons and lowering cost o Implemented a volunteer management unit (VMU) which brings thousands of hours of public labor
o Worked with HR to reduce steps in hiring process, lowering cost to hire o Trained staff to inspect play equipment—avoiding costly consultants and lowering risks from out-of-warranty play equipment
o Asked neighborhoods to maintain their own parks for several years o Entered into agreements with developers to reduce Park Trust Fund obligations in exchange for maintenance commitments
o Won grants to hire Conservation Corps trainees and West Valley interns o Launched San Jose Parks Foundation
The City is about to host a series of major sporting events in this next year and will be judged on more than downtown as Air BnBs are scattered throughout the neighborhoods. Parks are the soul of the city—what image does this City want to project?
We ask that the park maintenance budget not be reduced in FY 2025-26. The Park Maintenance budget is far below comparable cities. Hold the line.
We look forward to working with a newly re-invigorated park foundation or other non-profit organizations that may emerge in the coming months that will focus on our parks.
Sincerely,
Jean Dresden
San Jose Parks Advocates
cc.
Jennifer Maguire, City Manager
Jim Shannon, Budget Director
Angel Rios, Deputy City Manager
Jon Cicirelli, Director PRNS
Dear Mayor and City Council,
We are writing to express our strong support for the reinstatement of the Responsible Landlord Engagement Initiative (RLEI), a program that has played a critical role in fostering positive relationships between housing providers and residents, promoting community safety, and enhancing overall well-being in our neighborhoods. RLEI, hosted for many years by Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County, unfortunately ceased to offer services early this year. Its absence has created a significant gap in these essential services. We respectfully urge you to support the efforts to bring RLEI back under a new host organization and to ensure its inclusion in the City's upcoming budget for 2025-26. The revival of this program would provide vital resources to support conflict resolution, community safety, and improve the quality of life for many in our community. RLEI has been used several times in the South University Neighborhood to the benefit of many of our neighbors.
Thank you for considering this request.
Sincerely,
Anthony Tordillos and Giovanni Forcina
South University Neighborhood
Dear Council Member Salas,
I am writing to express my strong support for the reinstatement of the Responsible Landlord Engagement Initiative (RLEI), a program that has played a critical role in fostering positive relationships between housing providers and residents, promoting community safety and enhancing overall well-being in our neighborhoods.
RLEI, hosted for many years by Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County, unfortunately ceased to offer services early this year. Its absence has created a significant gap in these essential services.
I respectfully urge you to support the efforts to bring RLEI back under a new host organization and to ensure its inclusion in the City's upcoming budget for 2025-26. The revival of this program would provide vital resources to support conflict resolution, community safety, and improve the quality of life for many in our community.
Thank you for considering this request.
Sincerely,
Jaime Angulo
Housing Provider