COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: Chuen Wu, Assistant City Manager
DATE: April 15, 2025
SUBJECT: Homelessness and Encampment Response – Costs, Goals, Objectives, and Action Items.
The City Council will receive a presentation on costs associated with assisting the unhoused by the City of Santa Maria, and goals, objectives, and action items for continuing to address homelessness and encampment response.
BACKGROUND:
Homelessness and encampment response is a statewide issue and concern, with the State of California spending $24 billion since 2019 to address the issue. The spending includes housing and rental assistance, physical and mental health outreach, case management, and funds to purchase motels and other types of temporary housing. As of January 2024, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development reports approximately 187,000 individuals that were experiencing homelessness in California, out of a population of 39.4 mi llion. The point -in-time count for Santa Maria in 2024 reports 424 individuals that were experiencing homelessness. Of these individuals, 189 were reported to be sheltered, 138 were reported living outdoors, and 97 were reported living in vehicles.
The Ci ty of Santa Maria has multiple departments that respond to the impacts of encampments and the unhoused. As such, the City spends over $1 million annually addressing homelessness and encampment, through public safety, clean-ups, and funds to non-profit service providers.
DISCUSSION:
Counties primarily receive state and federal funding and grants to provide social and welfare services to their residents, including the unhoused, whereas cities utilize their general funds to provide public safety and qualit y of life to residents while enforcing city ordinances and local laws. A county may partner with local cities and other non -profit agencies to provide the full range of services that meet the needs of a community.
The County of Santa Barbara has partnere d with local cities on several California Encampment Resolution Fund (CERF) grants. In total, approximately $16.5 million has been awarded to the County for these three rounds of CERF. These funds are then used to pay for services that address the safety and wellness of encamped individuals, with the 2 goal of transitioning them into interim and permanent housing. The services include, but are not limited to, health services, including mental health and addiction recovery, housing navigation, and employment services. The City of Santa Maria has partnered with Santa Barbara County and coordinated with service providers, including Good Samaritan Shelter, on these efforts over the past several years. Specifically, CERF funding was directed to efforts along the ci ty’s railways, riverbed, and areas where individuals and families are found living in vehicles.
In addition, the Housing and Urban Development (HUD) program granted over $3.6 million to some of Santa Barbara County’s Continuum of Care agencies specifical ly to assist the unhoused or low-income individuals.
City Personnel and Contractor Costs
The City’s costs for addressing homelessness and encampment response are primarily associated with public safety and mitigating community impacts through cleaning up encampment sites. The Rangers, Police, and Code Enforcement have all committed staff time toward these efforts. In fiscal year 2024, approximately 13,685 hours were spent, which calculates to 6.5 full -time staff addressing and responding to homelessness a nd encampments. This staffing equates to approximately $644,700 in personnel costs on an annual basis, not including administrative and management tasks provided by staff in the Public Works Department, the City Manager’s Office, and the City Attorney’s Office.
Responder Hours spent
FY 22-23
Costs
FY 22-23
Hours spent
FY23- 24
Costs
FY 23-24
Police 2,600 $162,500 2,925 $188,500
Rangers 9,950 $400,000 10,500 $442,000
Code Enforcement 260 $13,500 260 $14,200
Total 12,810 $576,000 13,685 $644,700
In summary, our City departments provide efforts toward homelessness and encampment response in the following ways:
Police (SMPD): Officers of the Community Services Unit respond to any illegal activity, including but not limited to trespassing, littering, stealing, fighting, unlawful camping, parking recreational vehicles over 72 hours, etc. In fiscal year (FY) 2022- 23, SMPD received 5,406 total calls of service involving homelessness/transient issues. In FY 2023 -24, SMPD received 4,670 total calls of service involving homelessness and transient issues. Additionally, SMPD provides contact information for services to unhoused residents who may be seeking help. Recreation and Parks: The Rangers patrol the parks and the riverbed daily, clean up the trash left behind by encampments in parks, medians, or landscaped areas, and, like SMPD, provide contact information for services to unhoused residents who may be seeking help.
Community Development: Code Enforcement Officers assist with issues on private property by working with property owners, connecting them with SMPD, and assisting with letters of authority being filled out and filed with the SMPD. Staff in 3 the Community Programs Division provides and tracks Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) monies to local non -profit partners that provide services addressing homelessness.
Fire: Staff respond to medical calls for unhoused people, and also to dumpster and vegetation fires. In FY 2022 -23, Fire staff responded to 978 inciden ts with the unhoused; in FY 2023-24, Fire staff responded to 989 incidents0. Utilities: Staff processed over 81 tons of encampment trash in FY 2022 -23 and over 296 tons of encampment trash in FY 2023-24.
Public Works: Staff administers the encampment clean-up contract and processes the bills. Their staff will clean up medians if they notice garbage. Library: The Library provides a temperature-controlled space for the unhoused to spend time in during the day, along with computer access. They pay for added security in and around the library to mitigate safety concerns. City Attorney’s Office: This office provides staffing to press charges against those who have broken the laws.
City Manager’s Office: This office provides leadership, management , and coordination in various meetings with the County and other service providers regarding homelessness and encampments.
Finance: Staff processes payments for the encampment clean-up contract.
The City currently contracts with the company, 2Mexicans (2M) , to haul encampment waste away from clean-up sites and dispose of it at the Santa Maria Landfill. This contract has been funded v ia American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds, but with ARPA funding ending this next year, funding to continue this contract will need to come from other sources. In FY 2022-23, over $48,000 was paid to 2M for trash removal, over $230,000 in FY 2023-24, and over $93,000 so far in FY 2024-25.
Adding personnel and contractor costs results in a total cost of approximately $874,700 in FY 23 -24. The City expects costs to remain in the $800,000 to $1 million range to continue work in addressing homelessness and encampment response.
Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Funds
In FY 22-23, over $571,000 was directed to programs targeting homelessness, including capital improvements to Good Samaritan’s emergency shelter facility as well as tenant - based rental assi stance to households in need. In FY 23 -24, the City granted over $521,000, provided to other similar programs targeting homelessness.
FY 24 -25 recipients include $300,000 in funds for a Transition Age Youth (TAY) Navigation Center to be operated by Fight ing Back Santa Maria Valley, and additional funds ranging from $15,306 to $20,900 for Catholic Charities, Foodbank of Santa Barbara County, Good Samaritan Shelter, and The Salvation Army, all providing services to our low-income community, including those experiencing homelessness.
Goals, Objectives, and Action Items The City is committed to ensuring clean and safe neighborhoods in Santa Maria by mitigating the impacts of encampments. The City is also 4 committed to the broader goal of reducing homelessness through partnership and coordination with other agencies and service providers.
The City’s Goals, Objectives, and Action Items are stated below:
Goal 1: Ensure clean and safe neighborhoods in Santa Maria.
Objective 1.1: Clean and prevent the establishment of encampments.
Action 1.1.1: Provide 72 -hour notice to vacate and direct individuals living in encampments to resource and service providers, and follow -up on continued site monitoring.
Action 1.1.2: Monitor frequent encampment areas, such as the Santa Maria Riverbed, through daily patrol, and in coordination with other responsible jurisdictions, including Santa Barbara County, San Luis Obispo County, and CalTrans.
Action 1.1.3: Work with private property owners, including properties adjacent to frequent encampment areas, commercial shopping centers, and vacant properties, to monitor and strengthen their sites, and encourage implementation of added security measures.
Action 1.1.4: Upon vacati on of an encampment, contact staff or contractor s to clean up site, and implement measures to prevent re -encampment, including restricting access, fencing repair, vegetation trimming or planting, and other ways to reduce places of concealment.
Objective 1.2: Provide residents and businesses convenient access to report encampments.
Action 1.2.1: Maintain and monitor the City’s Neighborhood Connect portal to allow residents and businesses to report activities and concerns online.
Action 1.2.2: Continue to evaluate easy and effective ways for residents and businesses to report activities and concerns pertaining to encampments.
Objective 1.3: Create a unified enforcement front.
Action 1.3.1: Coordinate the efforts of various City departments through a Ho meless Encampment Task Force to provide ongoing strategies and recommendations that mitigate encampment impacts on neighborhoods and businesses.
Action 1.3.2: Increase visibility and efficiency of City efforts through consistent enforcement across departments, engaging daily patrol staff in contacting and identifying individuals experiencing homelessness.
5 Objective 1.4: Leverage other public safety measures to reduce crime related to the transient population.
Action 1.4.1: Instruct public safety officers to conduct evaluations of individuals who appear under the influence of controlled substances and take appropriate actions as needed, including charges and enforcement.
Action 1.4.2: Implement a bicycle registration system to reduce bicycle theft and to increase recovery of stolen bicycles and apprehension of those responsible for the thefts.
Action 1.4.3: Educate business owners of the City’s shopping cart ordinance, enforce shopping cart violations , and prevent abandoned carts from being used t o store belongings.
Goal 2: Reduce homelessness in Santa Maria.
Objective 2.1: Partner and engage with regional agencies and local service providers.
Action 2.1.1: Partner with Santa Barbara County, San Luis Obispo County, and other identified agencies in coordinating homelessness and encampment response efforts, collaborating regularly through scheduled meetings, and adhering to the stated expectations of an agreed -upon memorandum of understanding for efforts within the Santa Maria Riverbed.
Action 2.1.2: Coordinate police and ranger efforts with street outreach workers, identifying locations of encampments, including public right s-of-way, private properties, downtown, and areas of those living in vehicles, and connect outreach workers to individuals a nd families needing assistance.
Objective 2.2: Seek and provide funding and support for local service providers.
Action 2.2.1: Seek, partner with, and/or support other agencies in obtaining funding to address homelessness, such as California Encampment Resolution Funds (CERF).
Action 2.2.2: Continue the provision of (CDBG) funding toward homelessness efforts, including but not limited to, local non-profit agencies providing services to individuals and families experiencing homelessness.
Objective 2.3: Support the development of housing, including permanent, supportive, transitional, and emergency housing, with consideration to neighborhood input and potential impacts.
Action 2.3.1: Facilitate and prioritize the review of proposed housing development s, ensuring that the development meets community needs, is high-quality, and is compatible with surrounding and adjacent neighborhood uses.