City, County Summit Sparks Joint Task Force on Homeless

Embracing a concept he opposed two years ago as being too political, Los Angeles County Supervisor Mike Antonovich on Wednesday joined longtime adversary Mayor Tom Bradley in announcing the formation of a city-county task force on the homeless.

Emerging from an unusual summit conference held in Antonovich’s office, Bradley and Antonovich pledged cooperation on several points that seemed to have the effect of calling off recent feuding between the city and county on how best to deal with homeless people.

For example, Bradley strongly indicated to reporters that the city would not sue the county over alleged failure to provide adequate care and shelter for the homeless. Bradley and the City Council two weeks ago urged that such an action be taken.

Standing side by side, the mayor and Antonovich, who is chairman of the Board of Supervisors, said the joint task force will soon begin working for state legislation to make it easier to involuntarily hospitalize the homeless mentally ill. The task force, made up of top city and county officials, is also expected to move to develop more shelters and better coordinate emergency services for the homeless during periods of cold and wet weather.

Ironically, Antonovich two years ago helped block a proposal by Supervisor Ed Edelman to form a similar city-county task force on the homeless. Explaining his no vote, he said at the time that he feared Bradley would use the panel to bolster his 1985 mayoral reelection bid.

Antonovich, a conservative Republican with strong personal ties to Gov. George Deukmejian, and Bradley, a liberal Democrat who ran twice against Deukmejian, have been philosophical and political antagonists for many years.

Asked Wednesday about his 1985 vote, Antonovich told a reporter, “To be frank with you, I don’t remember the (1985) issues being discussed at this time.”

Edelman, although applauding the formation of the task force, said, “I’m sorry it was so long in coming. . . . We would have been miles ahead (had the task force been formed earlier).” After the 1985 vote, Edelman and city officials formed an informal panel that met only occasionally.

County officials said that this time around, the task force idea is not expected to face opposition by the board if it again comes to a vote.

Wednesday’s unusual 90-minute meeting was first proposed by Bradley shortly after he accused the county of “shirking” its responsibilities in providing adequate shelter and other services to the large local homeless population. In criticizing the county, Bradley also urged the city to sue the county to force it to boost its level of help to the homeless.

Antonovich had branded Bradley’s lawsuit threat “rash” and counterproductive, arguing that “all levels of government and the private sector should be working together” to solve the homeless problem. Antonovich had said that despite a tight budget, the county is providing $180 million a year for the homeless through its general relief program. He also had faulted the city for not replacing low-income housing removed in redevelopment projects.

Bradley at first evaded a question Wednesday on whether he had abandoned his litigation threat.

“We deliberately did not discuss the issues of a lawsuit this morning. I believe that the purpose of the meeting today was to explore ways that we could cooperate,” he said.

Pressed further, Bradley said, “I think it is very clear that a better way to deal with problems where there are some differences of opinion or conflict is to establish lines that we can all agree upon. That would make unnecessary any kind of legal action.”

Antonovich echoed Bradley’s optimism, saying, “I would like to build on the positive side of this important issue because homelessness is not restricted to this county. It’s a national problem.”

City Atty. James K. Hahn, through spokesman Mike Qualls, said that after the Bradley-Antonovich meeting, the mayor called Hahn and said the lawsuit would no longer be necessary. Qualls said, however, that the office will continue researching a possible lawsuit based on a City Council directive March 6.

Qualls added that Bradley did not want a representative of the city attorney’s office at Wednesday’s meeting because he wanted to avoid any confrontation between city and county officials. County Counsel DeWitt Clinton, however, did attend.

Participants at Wednesday’s meeting said that general agreement was reached on these points:

- General Relief. Bradley promised he would urge city backing of state legislation to relieve counties of their obligation to fund the massive general relief program. General relief, paid in the form of hotel vouchers and meal tickets to about 40,000 people, is entirely funded by the county. Bradley told reporters that general relief is “an inordinate burden on the county.”

- Mental health. Bradley pledged city support for county-backed amendments to the legislation that would make it easier for local officials to involuntarily detain mentally ill people for longer than 72 hours. Current law allows longer detention only after a hearing.

- Shelters. The city’s Community Redevelopment Agency will work with the county to identify potential new shelter sites. CRA Chairman Jim Wood said the agency may try to accelerate--with the county’s help--the rehabilitation of 34 Skid Row-area hotels that are not in compliance with the city’s earthquake safety ordinance. The out-of-compliance hotels account for more than a quarter of the available low-income dwelling units.