Office of the County Administrator Sheryl Bratton County of Sonoma County Administrator*

The County does not currently track housing status in a way that permits a determination of how many homeless people it serves and the cost of those services. Agree with Finding 11.

Due to state and federal funding cuts, the Leadership Council has announced a 34% reduction for 2020-2021 that will severely affect the County's homeless programs and services across the board. Disagree wholly or partially with Finding 12. The funding reduction does not represent a budget reduction. In 2019, the Governor approved a one-time appropriation of $12.1 Million of the State Emergency Aid Program (HEAP). At the time of this appropriation, it was uncertain whether there would be additional ongoing, annual appropriations. In 2020, the Governor's budget included an additional appropriation of funding with an allocation for the County and an appropriation for the Leadership Council. The Appropriation to the Leadership Council was $6.5 million, approximately $5.6 million less than the 2019 allocation. This is not a reduction in budget but rather the CoC received less one-time funding from the State of California. <b>RECOMMENDATIONS: R13, R14</b>