By Lookout Staff

June 01, 2010 --The City has reached a tentative deal with the ACLU of Southern California regarding the federal lawsuit alleging Santa Monica officials mistreat the mentally disabled homeless population. Santa Monica and ACLU officials are keeping quiet about the terms of the agreement while the details are finalized.

City Council members are expected to discuss the agreement and vote on it during the closed session portion of their meeting next week on Tuesday. An announcement about the details of the agreement will likely be publicly revealed when the council returns to open session.

U.S. District Judge George H. Wu recently dismissed the suit “with prejudice,” meaning the ACLU cannot bring it back to the court. The reason for the dismissal was because the two parties had reached the tentative agreement.

The suit was filed on behalf of six homeless plaintiffs and alleged that the City uses its police force to “harass and intimidate” the disabled homeless residents. City officials last year responded the suit’s filing with shock.

“We’re extremely surprised, disappointed and very perplexed,” said Julie Rusk, who runs the City’s homeless programs, soon after the suit was filed. “We are at the forefront of developing solutions that work and help those who are most at risk.”

An article that appeared in the Los Angeles Times in March about the ACLU’s suit against Santa Monica and two other Cities over homeless issues said Santa Monica had changed its policy on the treatment of the homeless because of the suit. The City fired back with a strongly worded press release stating that this had not been a factor in the City’s policy.

“Even the most casual observer knows that it didn’t take a 2009 lawsuit from the ACLU to spur Santa Monica’s decades’ long efforts to house and treat the homeless,” Assistant City Manager Kathryn Vernez stated in the release.

A recent one-night count of Santa Monica’s homeless showed the population went down from 915 last year to 742 this year. City officials attributed the reduction to the council’s 2008 Action Plan to Address Homelessness, which serves a smaller number of people more intensely.

Also, programs such as the Homeless Community Court -- which offers social services to those facing criminal charges -- and Project Homecoming -- which seeks to return homeless people to their families – were mentioned as factors. Additionally, improved coordination with government and nonprofit groups played a role.