On Tuesday, the Antioch City Council will host a special meeting to discuss its priorities around the homeless and potentially set up an ad-hoc committee.
According to the 49 page staff report, the City Manager has recently restructured the housing investments approach for the City, to include the creation of a dedicated Housing Services Division, and she has bolstered regional relationships with external partners to address policy interventions as well as possibilities for increasing service provisions, in addition to identifying funding opportunities in the area of housing services and housing opportunities for all.
It is recommended that the City Council discuss and provide direction to City staff regarding standing up an Ad Hoc Committee for this purpose and discuss the parameters and duration of such a committee.
This comes after a December 2023 meeting where the council worked with Focus Strategies to complete, “Plan for the Department of Public Safety and Community Resources to Reduce Homelessness and Increase Access to Critical Resources for Unhoused Residents”.
That plan came about as a result of “Policy Guidelines for the City’s Approach to Unhoused Resident Services” which the City Council adopted in April 2021.
If You Go
DATE: Tuesday, December 2, 2025
TIME: 12:00 P.M. Special Meeting/Workshop
PLACE: Antioch Water Park – Multi Use Room, 4701 Lone Tree Way, Antioch, CA 94531
Agenda – click here
Editors notes:
Although the staff report is 49-pages long, the staff report shares little information on the progress on addressing homelessness or impacts of the 2023 plan or 2021 policy guidelines. Given the missing data, the council has incomplete information as to if an ad-hoc committee is even needed.
With all the money spent on homelessness, in 2020, the point in time count showed 238 homeless. While the 2025 count showed 246 homeless. Over the past four years, the point in time count showed a high in 2024 at 413. Basically, the city is back to where it started.
- 2025 – 246
- 2024 – 413
- 2023 – 334
- 2020 – 238
Questions that have gone unanswered by city staff:
How much has the city of Antioch spent on homeless since moving forward with its 2021 plan?
Between staff time, consultants, spending, grants etc, this finances have not been provided in full to the public. Some of the bigger ticket items in spending over the years include:
- $1.2 million for 5 years for a homeless hotel if HomeKey Application is approved (potential spending)
- $75k – CORE Team (Nov 2024)
- $6.8 million – homeless encampment grant
- $2.3 million for on-call homeless encampment cleanup (through 2025, see staff report)
- $2.3 million for a 32-room homeless motel at Executive in (2-year lease)
- $2 million per year for Social Services at Hotel by Bay Area Community Services
- $284k to guarantee 15-rooms at Delta Landing in Pittsburg for homeless.
- $300k on Louie Rocha Emergency Plan for Homeless
- $2.2 million per year on Antioch Crisis Response Team (note: citywide program)
- $478,500k contract with Focus Strategies (now on 5th Amendment)
What wins have these programs/plans produced?
Back in February 2024, then mayor Lamar Thorpe and company touted an 82% success rate… higher than any program in the state. However, as previously pointed out, the city failed to provide any sort of data to back up the claim–to this day, nothing has been provided to showcase program success or if the city efforts are even working. At that point in time, success rates at Delta Landing in Pittsburg were 74% and the CORE Team in Martinez was at 67%.
Perhaps the success Antioch is now having in number of homelessness is no longer rolling out the carpet and inviting homeless into the community as the prior council did — 2024 Point In Time showed 413, again, today’s number is closer to 2020 levels at 246.
Which non-profits are actually providing services and making an impact and what ones are simply taking a check? At some point, the city needs to start giving bigger checks to the successful programs and eliminate spending to the poverty pimps. It would also behoove the city to think outside the box.
Given Antioch’s budget constraints, what can legitimately even be done?
At its Nov. 20 meeting, it was stated the city deficit was at $16 million. However, with rollover of $5 million, the city was still running at an $11 million deficit and more cuts are needed. How much more investment, partnered with county CORE Team and other stakeholders can Antioch afford?
Transparency issues: data available to public is lacking:
- Homeless callouts/crisis response
- Encampment data
- Law enforcement data
- Code enforcement activities
- Cleanup costs – including staff time and dumping fees
- Costs working with non-profits – food, shelter, services,
Has anyone at the city or council figured out the impact on economic development and businesses?
Between the blight, feces, arson, the broken windows, to vandalism, to people sleeping on business doorsteps, what has been the impact on economic development? We already know sales tax revenue was down $1 million last year and will compound a loss of another $1 million this year – meaning $2 million in sales tax revenue is gone.
Antioch leadership has it backwards as it should be spending its time on economic development and creating foot traffic given Somerville is a “no go” zone and A St and E 18th is right behind it. The downtown is barely holding on. Perhaps staff and the council should be spending more time with local businesses, the Chamber of Commerce, the Downtown Antioch Association to come up with a plan that would benefit everyone in the city.
Couldn’t have provided the agenda sooner or be more accessible?
The meeting was announced on November 20, however, the agenda was released on December 1. The meeting is also being held at 12:00 pm at an alternate site (Antioch Water Park – Multi Use Room) when most residents will not be available. The more things change, the more they stay the same and the residents and advocates lose.
Mike Burkholder
Publisher of ContraCosta.news
burk@contracosta.news