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HOMELESS OVERSIGHT
Council trying to decide best route forward
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The City Council may decide tonight how they want to better oversee the city’s homeless efforts.

Addressing homeless issues has been the No. 1 Manteca City Council priority for the past three years.

To get a better handle on oversight of the city efforts with the homeless staff  in August 2020 proposed creating a position completely dedicated to homeless issues in lieu of having an analyst in the city manager’s office devoting 20 percent of their time to homeless concerns while juggling other projects.

The council  agreed a dedicated staff member moving initiatives forward and working with the community to address homeless concerns made sense. But they wanted the position to include addressing affordable housing. That’s because since 2001, city councils have off and on made affordable housing a priority with little progress.

On a 4-1 vote the council embraced the concept of a combo homeless/affordable housing coordinator and instructed staff to provide more details on how such a position would work. Within weeks of that directive the city — upon unearthing financial accounting concerns — delayed any action to further vet and fill such a position..

Then in July 2021 the council again moved to try to speed up city efforts and better coordinate homeless initiatives by creating an ad hoc committee. Mayor Ben Cantu and Councilman Dave Breitenbucher were appointed by the council over Gary Singh and Charlie Halford who also requested to serve on the ad hoc committee.

Two weeks ago Breitenbucher said he didn’t like the directions things were going and wanted to step down from the committee.

That led to a discussion and a council consensus to have staff present an option tonight for a homeless commission comprised of Manteca citizens to function in a manner similar to the Planning Commission.

The City Council when they meet tonight at 7 p.m. may again alter their game plan on how to keep homeless-related projects on track and to better address community homeless concerns.

There are three options they could act on:

*move forward with the ad hoc committee by replacing Breitenbucher plus give staff time to continue developing the city’s “homelessness program, processes, and procedures”

*instead of an ad hoc committee start a City Council Homeless Subcommittee that unlike the ad hoc committee would be subject to the Brown Act and open to the public. The two members could make recommendations to the full council, hear presentations, listen to and receive public comment, and vet matters before going the full council for a decision. They could also appoint citizens to ad hoc committees on various issues for advisory purposes.

*creating a homeless commission comprised of Manteca citizens that would work in the same manner as the Planning Commission

 

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com