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LA County fires head of housing program
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L.A. County Board of Supervisors dismisses head of housing agency amidst massive effort to tackle homelessness.
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Los Angeles County will be looking for a new leader of its low-income housing programs.
The L.A. County Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to dismiss Sean Rogan in a closed meeting Tuesday. Rogan has served as head of the Housing Authority of the County of L.A. and the county's Community Development Commission since 2009.
Members of the board, as well as the county's Chief Executive Office, declined to comment on what they said was a confidential personnel matter.
The move comes at a critical time for the county, which is just beginning its most comprehensive effort to date to tackle homelessness. Measure H, a sales tax hike that kicked in October 1, is expected to provide up to $355 million a year for homeless services in L.A. County.
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That voter-approved funding also came with ambitious promises to get 45,000 people off the streets and prevent another 30,000 from becoming homeless in the next five years.
The agencies formerly headed by Rogan are critical to that effort.
The housing authority runs the county's public housing properties as well as the Section 8 rental assistance program. Section 8, particularly, plays a role in L.A.'s Homeless Initiative, as it is one of the primary sources of rental payments for formerly homeless housed in permanent supportive housing developments.
The Community Development Commission administers the county's Community Development Block Grant, which goes to things like neighborhood improvement, meals programs for seniors, and some homeless programs.
Rogan's dismissal also comes at a time when local housing agencies are anticipating potential cuts in federal funding, which pay for public housing improvements, the Section 8 program, and the Community Development Block Grant.
The Board of Supervisors has not yet said when they'll appoint a replacement for Rogan.
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