ATTACHMENT A
May 16, 2023, ICH Resignation Staff Report
Item Number: 14
City Council / Board of Directors
Written Communications
Meeting of: May 16, 2023
Submitted By:
Keith C. Metzler, City Manager
Sophie L. Smith, Deputy City Manager
Subject:
Resignation from Interagency Council on Homelessness (ICH) Recommendation:
That Your Honorable City Council approve a Letter of Resignation from the City of Victorville as a member of the Interagency Council on Homelessness, and from its role as Chair and Secretary of the Desert Regional Steering Committee.
Fiscal Impact:
There is no fiscal impact associated with this action.
Strategic Plan Goal:
Strategic Plan Goal D. Reduce Homelessness. Victorville’s resignation from its seat on the Interagency Council on Homelessness will afford staff more time to focus on Victorville-specific homelessness solutions.
Background:
The Interagency Council on Homelessness (ICH) is the policy-making body and Governing Board for the San Bernardino County Continuum of Care (CoC), known as the San Bernardino County Homeless Partnership. On January 24, 2018, ICH voted to increase its city membership from 10 to 12 cities. On May 7, 2018, ICH invited the City of Victorville to apply for one of the two new membership positions. Victorville submitted its application, and on August 15, 2018, the ICH members approved the City of Victorville as one of the two newly represented cities. Subsequently, on September 4, 2018, the Victorville City Council appointed City Manager Keith Metzler as primary representative and Sophie Smith as an alternate to represent Victorville on the Interagency Council on Homelessness (ICH).
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On August 28, 2019, the ICH Board took action to amend its Governance Manual and Bylaws. The change in the Governance Manual and Bylaws created a regional representation system and transferred the authority to appoint five city representatives, representing the five regions covered by the CoC, to the City Selection Committee. On September 25, 2019, the City Selection Committee recommended, and the ICH Board approved, Keith Metzler as the City Desert Region Representative. The Victorville City Council has affirmed City Manager Keith Metzler and Deputy City Manager Sophie Smith as the primary and alternate members for ICH through its annual Outside Agency Appointments process each December.
Discussion:
Staff has participated as a voting member in the Interagency Council on Homelessness since September 2018. Since 2019, staff has also taken a leadership role in the Desert Regional Steering Committee, which is the ICH joint regional subcommittee that is intended to combine the efforts of the members of the Homeless Provider Network (HPN) with city regional representatives. Victorville serves as the city chair for the committee, and also serves as secretary for the committee. This committee meets monthly and reports its activities to the ICH.
In addition to this regional representation, Victorville began to formulate its own plan to address homelessness within its jurisdiction in 2018. On February 5, 2019, the Victorville City Council voted in favor of the formation of a Homelessness Solutions Task Force.
The first meeting of Victorville’s Task Force was held in May 2019. In July 2019, the City took another step to address homeless issues by creating a full-time position dedicated to coordinate the citywide homelessness solutions activity, a Homelessness Solutions Coordinator.
Following several public meetings and roundtable discussions of the Task Force, the Homelessness Solutions Strategic Action Plan was completed in October 2019. The plan was developed to provide the City with a framework that identifies and addresses local issues associated with homelessness and the most effective means to focus efforts and resources. The Homelessness Solutions Strategic Action Plan was approved by the Victorville City Council on November 5, 2019. The Plan contains ten measurable goals intended to address ongoing, systematic social issues related to homelessness and its impact on the community. The Task Force continues to meet regularly, networks have been developed, and resources are shared among the members. One of the most significant projects that is coming to fruition is the development of Enhanced Shelter Operations as defined in the Strategic Action Plan. The Wellness Center, as the project has been named, is well under construction and scheduled for completion in Summer of 2023. The primary source of funding for the Wellness Center project was the Homekey grant, for which Victorville applied directly to the state.
The City of Victorville has taken several actions to proactively address homelessness within its jurisdiction since 2018. An additional full-time staff member has been added to the Homelessness Solutions team, and staff from numerous City Departments work together on a daily basis to address Victorville’s homeless issues. Despite these efforts, 3 0
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there is still much to do to address homelessness within the City. Given its finite resources, in terms of people, time and finances, the city’s membership role in the ICH as well as the Desert Regional Steering Committee has become a strain. The staff focused on homelessness solutions must split time between these committees while remaining focused on the City’s individual efforts. In terms of results, the efforts spent on City-specific projects have proved more beneficial, and a better use of time as demonstrated by the grant funding sought directly from the state for the Wellness Center.
It has come to the point where staff must decide what is the most effective use of time, in order to yield the best results.
Given Victorville’s limited resources, staff recommends a resignation from the leadership roles in ICH and the Desert Regional Steering Committee will free up more staff time to continue to focus its efforts on Victorville’s Homelessness Solutions Strategic Action Plan and its Task Force. Despite the proposed resignation from these roles, Victorville remains in the geographical area covered by the San Bernardino County Continuum of Care (CoC), and Victorville staff will continue to regularly attend ICH meetings to remain informed of Countywide homeless activities.
For the reasons stated above, staff is recommending the Victorville City Council approve the City Manager’s preparation and submittal of a Letter of Resignation of Membership to the Interagency Council on Homelessness, and a Letter of Resignation from the Desert Regional Steering Committee as co-chair and secretary.
Staff remains available for any question the Council may have.
Attachments: None