The City Council Friday delayed a vote on City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto's request to hire a "monitor" who would track the city's progress and use of funds under a federal lawsuit settlement requiring 12,915 shelter beds by June 2027.
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The City Council is expected to revisit the matter Wednesday. Feldstein Soto has proposed contracting with former City Controller Ron Galperin and data analyst Daniel Garrie to serve jointly as the monitor in the L.A. Alliance case.
In June, a federal court judge determined that the city failed to meet its obligations under a settlement agreement with the L.A. Alliance for Human Rights. U.S. District Judge David Carter ordered city officials to provide an updated plan detailing how it will create 12,915 beds for homeless residents within two years.
In court documents, Carter wrote that the city has shown "a consistent lack of cooperation and responsiveness -- an unwillingness to provide documentation unless compelled by court order or media scrutiny."
The judge had previously threatened the city with appointing a receiver to oversee homeless funding and enforce compliance with the settlement, as requested by plaintiffs. Carter ultimately declined to do so, describing such action as a "last resort."
However, Carter did institute a "monitor" to oversee compliance, who would "ask the hard questions on behalf of Angelenos," the judge had written in his order.
The city is expected to submit their bed plan and name a monitor as ordered by Carter no later than Oct. 3.
The case started in March 2020 when L.A. Alliance -- a coalition of business owners and residents of the city and county -- filed a complaint in Los Angeles federal court against the city and Los Angeles County accusing them of not doing enough to address homelessness.
A judge signed off on a settlement in September 2023 in which the county agreed to supply an additional 3,000 beds for mental health and substance abuse treatment by the end of next year and subsidies for 450 new board-and-care beds. The L.A. Alliance filed papers alleging the city was not meeting its obligations.
An independent court-ordered assessment filed in March was unable to verify the number of homeless shelter beds the city claimed to have created.
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