The Reason Costs Rose Across Los Angeles County This Week

LOS ANGELES, CA — Prices have gone up ever-so-slightly for Angelenos this week as the sales tax rose by a quarter-cent to fund anti-homeless measures.

The tax increase was approved by voters countywide in November with the passaged of Measure A. The funding will help maintain existing programs, but it remains controversial as residents and county leaders express frustration at the region's ongoing homelessness crisis despite the billions earmarked to combat it.

Measure A -- the Affordable Housing, Homelessness Solutions and Prevention Now measure -- will remain in perpetuity unless it is repealed by voters.

According to the written language of the measure, about 60% of revenue generated by the sales tax will cover costs for homelessness services and 15% of that will be distributed to cities based on the annual point-in-time count of homeless people. Another 35.75% will support the L.A. County Affordable Housing Solutions Agency, which was created in 2023 by the state Legislature to oversee homeless solutions.

Backers said the initiative predicted it would be a game changer for the county and its approach to addressing the homelessness crisis by generating $1.2 billion annually.

Cities throughout the county already have varying sales tax rates, the increase, which took effect Tuesday, raises most city rates — including LA's — from 9.5 percent to 9.75 percent. Some cities including Long Beach, Culver City and Baldwin Park will see sales tax increase to 10.50 percent.

That means people in Los Angeles County paid 25 cents more for every $100 spent on Tuesday than they did on Monday. For a $50,000 car that translates to a sales tax increase of $125.

The measure also mandates regular oversight and reporting on the following outcomes:

-- Increase the number of people moving from encampments on the streets into permanent housing;

-- Reduce the number of people with mental illness or substance use disorders who are experiencing homelessness;

-- Increase the number of people permanently leaving homelessness;

-- Prevent people falling into homelessness; and

-- Increase the number of affordable housing units in L.A. County.

The measure requires elected officials and related agencies to establish goals every five years and to track that progress.

On Tuesday, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to create its own department to coordinate regional homeless services, effectively de-funding a joint county-city os Angeles Homeless Service Authority that has long overseen such programs but has come under fire due to the persistent crisis of people living on the streets.

The Los Angeles City Council is also considering a study to bypass LAHSA and manage contracts directly with homeless service providers.

Both bodies have taken serious steps to limit LAHSA's power over funding following scathing reports that alleged the agency misused or mismanaged funds, among other issues.

The homeless agency was created in 1993 to address homelessness in Los Angeles County. It is the lead entity that coordinates and manages federal, state, county and city funds for shelter, housing and services to people experiencing homelessness throughout the L.A. Continuum of Care, which encompasses all cities in the region -- with the exceptions of Long Beach, Pasadena and Glendale.

LAHSA officials have disputed some of the findings of the audits and urged officials to continue their partnership. The homeless agency has begun efforts to bolster transparency through the creation of accessible databases, which better track available shelter beds and outcomes of services.

Officials at the agency said they anticipate a 5% to 10% decrease in unsheltered homelessness in the region, which would mark the second consecutive year of such a decline.

The preliminary results are in line with last year's outcome, which showed a 10.7% and 5.1% decrease in unsheltered homelessness within the city and the county of Los Angeles, respectively. The final results of the 2025 count are expected to be released in late spring or early summer.

"When I first came to LAHSA, I publicly stated that we wanted to reduce unsheltered homelessness within three years," LAHSA CEO Va Lecia Adams Kellum said in a statement earlier in March. "We've done it in two."

The agency hailed the early results, which officials say show the region is on the right track to "solving" homelessness.

City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.