Alameda County Board of Supervisors Special Meeting: Budget, Homelessness, and Disaster Preparedness

The Alameda County Board of Supervisors convened a special meeting to receive reports on federal/state/county budget and financial conditions, an update on the Home Together and homelessness system, and disaster preparedness training for the Board and department heads. The meeting opened with closed session conferences on labor negotiations, potential and existing litigation, and real property negotiations for the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum and Arena Complex. No formal votes were taken during open session. Note: the agenda for this meeting is dated Tuesday, September 29, 2026, while the source metadata provided for this summary identifies the meeting date as October 2, 2026.

Public Comments & Testimony

• One in-person speaker during the homelessness item made largely unintelligible remarks referencing financial donations, property ownership, bankruptcy proceedings, and pending court litigation.
• A later public commenter made similarly unclear remarks referencing compliance directives, the SLAPP Act, and what appeared to be references to burial/military standards; the transcript is too garbled to establish a clear position.

Discussion Items

Federal, State and County Budget/Financial Updates

• County staff reported the FY 2026-27 final adopted budget totals approximately $6.7 billion across all funds, a 10% increase over the prior year.
• The county closed roughly half of a $185 million maintenance-of-effort funding gap with $93 million in retirement savings and prepayments of pension liabilities.
• Budget components include $2.2 billion in salaries and benefits for approximately 10,000 employees; $1.25 billion in community-based organization (CBO) contracts, including $140 million for Alameda Health System contracts; $440 million for housing and homelessness programs; $347 million in Measure W investments; $387 million for direct municipal services; and $477 million in drug-related payments (transcription unclear).
• The Federal Reserve raised its benchmark interest rate on September 16, its first increase since July 2023, in an effort to address a surge in oil prices; inflation remains more than a percentage point above the Fed's 2% target.
• Nearly 13,000 area layoffs were reported by early September 2026, notably higher than last year; globally, technology layoffs affected more than 76,000 workers as of July 2026.
• Housing market data (August): median single-family home price of $1.285 million, up 0.8% from the previous month; home sales down about 14% from last month and down 9% year over year; inventory up about 15% compared to July but down about 12% from a year ago; median time on market of 14 days, down 7% from the previous month; the statewide median time on market was 53 days.
• A supervisor reported that a prior committee advanced, for full Board decision: support for the Veterans Affordable Housing Bond Act of 2026; support for Proposition 40, a one-time wealth tax for state-funded health care, education, and food assistance; opposition to Proposition 43, a two-thirds vote requirement for local special tax initiatives; and support for the regional transportation measure. Fourteen statewide ballot propositions are qualified for the November ballot.
• A supervisor noted reports that the health care provider identified in the transcript as "ISER" will lay off 147 employees in Pleasanton and Oakland and asked whether other regional providers are affected.
• Supervisors requested: CBO employment data; updates on departmental fee increases; an assessment appeals timeline that meets the next lookback period; Measure W revenue overages above the anticipated $170 million once books close; budget-to-actual information for the last fiscal year; a deeper revenue analysis, particularly sales tax tracking; and continued attention to charging back hospital service costs while controlling costs.

Update on Board Initiatives: Home Together and Homelessness System

• The draft Home Together 2030 plan is out for a 45-day public comment period ending October 1; it will be presented to the Mayors Conference on October 14, with a final draft submitted to the Board for adoption in November and city endorsements to follow.
• The plan's five pillars are prevention, access, shelters, housing, and health care, supported by system foundations; headline goals are reducing overall homelessness by one-third and reducing unsheltered homelessness by 50%.
• Year-four system data show, for the first time, more people exiting to housing than entering or returning to homelessness; the county also saw improvements in racial equity in returns to homelessness, with most populations at or below the system-wide average.
• FY 2024-25 funding proportions were approximately 43% state, 28% local, and 28% federal, prior to the rollout of Measure A investment.
• The HUD Continuum of Care application, submitted after more than 100 hours of work by the team over 10 business days following a surprise court ruling, seeks $74 million (up to $10 million more than last year). Roughly $64 million of base annual funding is at risk; $38 million is expected to be renewed; more than $26 million of currently funded grants were ineligible under new policy; and about $19.5 million has no current funding disposition. The county also proposed $26 million in new projects.
• Home Together Fund staffing is at 122 total FTE, including 45 funded positions, 36 new positions created over the last fiscal year, and 19-plus positions still under discussion; more than 100 positions are currently filled.
• Over the life of the measure, projected impacts include more than 1,400 new subsidies, 1,400 new housing units, and 300 new shelter beds.
• Shelter stabilization: the Social Services Agency maintains 813 shelter beds at a rate of $36 per night, unchanged since 2018; the Board approved a one-time $13 million allocation. New rates take effect January 1, 2027; the expanded rates will cost roughly $38 million per year (transcript reads "to fund equally 113 beds"). Contracts will run 18 months with a three-month ramp-up period, a four-person compliance team, and temporary 75% rate withholding for sustained non-compliance, though staff stated shelters would not be closed and residents would not be put back on the street.
• Homelessness prevention: since July, more than $8 million annually has been added to housing resource centers for flexible financial assistance, case management, and legal services; a forthcoming prevention hub procurement will create a centralized access point. The goal is $20 million total in prevention investments each year, separate from the $150 million flexible fund for people currently experiencing homelessness.
• Approximately 300 behavioral health bridge housing beds, opened with one-time state Care Court funding, are at risk of sunsetting; staff are exploring sustaining a subset.
• In District 1 (Tri-Valley), the point-in-time count has increased while the county overall declined; 12% of Home Together Fund investments to date have gone to District 1, double its share of the point-in-time count. Staff are waiting on a proposal from three Tri-Valley cities and emphasized the need for city partnership on siting.
• Supervisors raised concerns about: hiring speed and civil service constraints despite the declared housing emergency; enforcement of shelter standards and rules at housing sites (one supervisor warned of a "backlash of support" for Measure W if public safety concerns at program sites are not resolved); the voluntary nature of treatment services; coordination with cities on capital procurement for acquisition, rehab, and conversion of existing properties; capacity building for smaller community-based organizations; vehicular homelessness and safe parking; and the Home Stretch coordinated entry system, which staff described as a matching system for a queue of about 4,000 prioritized individuals, not a source of new housing.

Disaster Preparedness Training

• The training was led by County Emergency Manager Brent Blazer and introduced by Hayes Stokes; the Board and department heads received an electronic emergency handbook.
• Key concepts: elected officials serve a governance role (policy, funding, advocacy, public leadership) distinct from operational command; the Emergency Operations Center is an information management and coordination function; officials should plug into briefings and liaisons rather than self-deploy or direct field operations; and public statements should rely on verified information coordinated with the Public Information Officer.
• Emergency proclamations are governance tools tied to resource needs and authorities, generally made within about 10 days of a disaster, with ratification by the Board within up to seven days when urgent; documentation of emergency expenditures is essential for reimbursement.
• Recovery transitions should begin as soon as the immediate threat ends; recovery typically spans five to seven years, with public assistance supporting government infrastructure and individual assistance supporting affected residents and businesses.
• Scenario discussions covered earthquakes, wildfire season, flooding, public information/media inquiries, offers of donations and volunteers, and disaster service workers.
• Supervisors discussed the Urban Shield training program, praising its multidisciplinary value and noting the loss of federal funding after a 3-2 Board vote; the sheriff's office is working to bring back smaller-scale training.
• OES staffing: the Board previously approved 14 positions; nine have been hired, five vacancies remain with interviews scheduled in two weeks, and OES now has 10 staff. Nearly 1,300 people have newly signed up for AC Alert as of the day before the meeting.
• Supervisors requested a tabletop exercise for the Board and department heads, ongoing training, clearer media protocols for directing press inquiries, and continued coordination with cities on preparedness; all county employees are disaster service workers.

Key Outcomes

• No formal open-session votes were taken; the agenda items were informational/presentational.
• Closed session conferences were held on labor negotiations with all labor organizations and Teamsters Local 856, potential and existing litigation (including Goolsby, Mendoza, and Boyette cases), and Coliseum property negotiations with Oakland Acquisition Company, LLC, Coliseum Way Partners, LLC, and the City of Oakland; County Counsel reported but the transcript does not detail actions.
• The final Home Together 2030 plan is expected to go to the Board for adoption in November, following the October 14 Mayors Conference presentation.
• New shelter reimbursement rates take effect January 1, 2027, under 18-month contracts.
• The HUD Continuum of Care application, seeking $74 million, was to be submitted on the day after the meeting per the presentation.
• The County Administrator's Office was asked to return with CBO employment data, budget-to-actual analysis, deeper sales tax/revenue reporting, Measure W overage figures, and prioritized departmental fee studies.
• OES will fill five vacancies, pursue a Board tabletop exercise, and continue developing city coordination and public preparedness resources.