Susan Hunter, speaking as a sexual assault survivor, says she was lied to about the processing of her rape kit. "Until we address the actual core of the issue doesn't matter if we give them more money or less money," have to "actually regulate how the LAPD are going to be used."

More public comment: Another caller says that instead of defunding the LAPD, the city should focus on prosecuting officers who have killed people.

Maebe A. Girl of Silver Lake Neighborhood Council speaks up in favor of a vacancy tax, defunding the LAPD and adopting the People's Budget. Marching is "cheap and performative" when council members have the power to make change but choose not to, she says.

Stephanie Hirsh (not sure of spelling!) also speaks in favor of the vacancy tax, says that "thousands are living and dying on the streets because of the economic fallout due to the twin pandemics of COVID and racism."

Another caller says "police do not prevent crime -- what will prevent crime is dismantling white supremacy."

A Building Industry Association rep urges the council not to put the vacancy tax on the November ballot, saying it would make it more expensive to build housing and "still deliver a product that's attainable to all."

Ricci Sergienko of @PplsCityCouncil says even more units will be empty after COVID protections against evictions are lifted. Also tells @PaulKoretzCD5, who voted against finding up to $150 million in savings from the LAPD, that he's making himself a "target."

Another speaker, identifying himself only as Richard, backs the vacancy tax. "There's a serious housing crisis here and vacant units are a huge part of it," he says.

L.A. County Business Federation asks the council to hold off on putting the vacancy tax on the ballot, says it needs much more discussion.

L.A. Councilman Mitch O'Farrell, facing criticism over seeking funds from the coronavirus-related CARES Act for the Hollywood Walk of Fame Master Plan Project, says this money cannot be used for any purpose other than infrastructure, economic and workplace devmt or connectivity.

O'Farrell says that money can't be used for healthcare or housing and would simply be forfeited if the city doesn't apply for it.

O'Farrell: "It would be unwise for us to forfeit the opportunity" when the money could create jobs, improve walkability and make the Walk of Fame a world class destination.

Councilman Mike Bonin asks city staff to report back to them on what other projects they'll be seeking this federal money for, including potentially the jobs program proposed by Councilman Herb Wesson and Council President Nury Martinez.

Councilman Marqueece Harris-Dawson wants to know what other projects were considered. CLA's Office says Destination Crenshaw was one of the projects assessed and that the team working on that project was going to pursue a grant independent of the city.

Now the City Council is taking up a decision about whether to put a vacancy tax on the ballot in November -- or hold off until 2022.

Bonin says a vacancy tax could encourage people to put units back onto the market by penalizing them for leaving housing empty. Cites Vancouver as a success story.

A vacancy tax could also create a revenue stream for affordable housing, eviction prevention and homeless services, Bonin says.

Bonin says the housing department found that luxury units are much more likely to sit empty than apartments with lower rents.

Bonin wants the City Council to recommend that the City Attorney start working on a possible November 2020 measure, modeled on an Oakland tax with a progressive rate structure recommended by a consultant.

Councilman Paul Koretz says he's heard this could discourage development, but says if it discourages people from developing units and then leaving them empty, that's fine. "It's easy and it's logical and it's fair to require luxury housing that's built to go on the market."

Councilman David Ryu says it's hard to argue the vacancy tax isn't worth exploring when we see rising homelessness. Says it will expand our available housing supply.

City staff says there's a Friday deadline to instruct the City Attorney to draft the measure, which would then have to come back to Council for approval before July 1.

A city attorney says that to draft the tax measure, they need to know what the money would be used for, how we distinguish "high end" homes, the time frame for the tax, whether it sunsets, and other key details.

Bonin says he's providing that guidance -- by saying to model it on the Oakland tax but use the progressive rate structure outlined by the Blue Sky consultant.

Bonin is referring back to this report -- see the 'Attachment B' at the end: http://clkrep.lacity.org/onlinedocs/2019/19-0623_rpt_CLA_06-08-2020.pdf

Buscaino says he hates moving forward on these kind of proposals in the "midnight hour," says he's not comfortable moving forward on this. Questions why L.A. should include a vacancy tax on commercial property.

Bonin says commercial property was one of the recommendations that came back, to address ground floor commercial blight. But says if it makes the difference in moving forward today, could excise the commercial portion.

Councilman O'Farrell says when he came to L.A., the market would address vacancies. Now there are corporations that are comfortable leaving units "largely unoccupied until they can get the price that they're looking to get," he says.

O'Farrell says he'd like to tackle a "fairly small universe" of commercial vacancies that have lasted for years or decades.

O'Farrell suggests allowing some kind of "hardship claim" for single-family property owners.

Councilman Paul Krekorian says he wants to look hard at ways to increase revenue and housing stock, but is uncomfortable with putting something before voters before it's "fully fleshed out and developed."

Krekorian asks city attorney: if we do what Bonin has suggested, something is drafted for us to look at, and then we discuss whether we want that model for a tax, then we propose amendments ... what happens? Can we do that?

City Clerk Holly Wolcott says the last day for the council to adopt the resolution is July 1 -- if they want to make changes to what's drafted by city attorney, they'd need enough time to make those changes before July 1.

Councilman David Ryu complains about luxury towers sitting vacant commanding upwards of $10,000 rent to look good on the investment market. Krekorian isn't swayed by this, saying if you aren't actually charging that rent, you're not really commanding $10,000 rent.