Committee questions whether shelter grant is reducing Measure AA costs

Committee members pressed staff about Measure AA spending on homeless services and whether the city is tracking outcomes and cost-effectiveness. Finance Manager Adam Jans said the city tracks outreach contacts and bed utilizations for April–June and that those numbers were provided in the report.

Jans said the shelter arrangement was funded through a service-provider grant rather than a city grant and that the provider’s grant "was up through September" in staff notes; he estimated it saved the city about $88,000 per month during the recent months it applied. He emphasized the grant is not indefinite and staff would confirm final terms with the provider.

Saunders asked whether the majority of the code-enforcement budget that was shown as $518,000 relates to homeless services; Jans said yes — a large portion of contractual services and outreach are directed to the shelter and MOU with Murrieta. Jans also cautioned against over-interpreting trends in contact counts without further analysis.