Reed Park and Downtown Santa Monica ambassadors

Uniformed staff paid to watch, clean and help in parks and downtown.

What it is

Ambassadors are uniformed workers who walk a set area all day. They give directions, keep restrooms usable, pick up trash, call police when something is illegal or dangerous, and refer people who are homeless to outreach workers. They are not police and cannot arrest anyone or offer a bed.

The city pays for two ambassador programs from the General Fund. The Reed Park Ambassador Program, $645,884 in FY2026-27, puts ambassadors in Christine Emerson Reed Park at 7th and Wilshire. The second line, $1,084,163, is the city's payment to Downtown Santa Monica Inc. (DTSM) for its downtown Ambassador Program. Both sit in the Non-Departmental part of the budget.

DTSM is a private nonprofit that manages the downtown business district. Downtown property owners pay a yearly assessment, and DTSM spends it on cleaning, private security, marketing and ambassadors. The city's payment adds hours on top of what property owners already buy. DTSM's whole budget for FY2026-27 is about $9.45M (secondhand), and it hires Legion Corporation for security.

On a normal Tuesday at Reed Park, the 2020 contract called for 228 ambassador hours a week, 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily, two ambassadors by day and four on evenings and weekends. Downtown, DTSM's ambassadors and safety staff cover 6 a.m. to 10 or 11 p.m. The programs exist because residents complained about drug use and sanitation in parks, and officials judged a permanent police post too expensive and unwelcoming.

How it started

Downtown property owners voted in 2008 to create a property-based assessment district, approved by 57% of the 256 owners who voted. The 2008 engineer's report described ambassadors as a new downtown service paid by the new assessments (secondhand). The managing nonprofit, Bayside District Corporation, renamed itself Downtown Santa Monica Inc. on Jan 27, 2011. In March 2018, 91% of 221 voting owners kept the 20-year district at its midpoint review (secondhand). On Dec 6, 2016 the Council approved Agreement 10402 with DTSM for a park ambassador pilot in Tongva and Palisades Parks. On June 25, 2019 it added Reed Park as a six-month pilot that began Aug 1, 2019, funded with $150,000 of Council discretionary money and $100,000 of General Fund. In January 2020 staff called the pilot a success, and the Council extended it, raising the agreement to $5,252,439. Reed Park ran in the Special Revenue Source Fund in FY2021-22 and FY2022-23 and moved to the General Fund in FY2023-24. DTSM added safety ambassadors in April 2021 and merged hospitality and safety into Community Ambassadors in early 2023. In 2023 its board weighed using about $1.7M of ambassador money for private security instead (secondhand).

What we take and when

Starting in FY2027-28, the Council would cut the Reed Park line by $0.32M to all $0.65M once people sleeping in and around Reed Park have beds, and cut the city's DTSM payment by $0.27M to $0.54M. Together that is $0.59M to $1.19M a year moved to bed operations under D5.

The numbers today

Reed Park Ambassador Program, account 01800004.550250$645,884FY2026-27 budget plan fact
Reed Park Ambassador Program, prior years$557,939 (FY2023-24 actual); $585,836 (FY2024-25 revised); $615,128 (FY2025-26 adopted)FY2023-24 to FY2025-26 fact
City payment to DTSM for the Ambassador Program, account 01800004.550010$1,084,163FY2026-27 budget plan fact
City payment to DTSM, prior years$796,432 (FY2022-23 actual); $936,541 (FY2023-24 actual); $983,368 (FY2024-25 revised); $1,032,536 (FY2025-26 adopted)FY2022-23 to FY2025-26 fact
Both lines together$1,730,047FY2026-27 budget plan inference
Reed Park weekly ambassador hours in the 2020 contract228 hours, 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. dailyJanuary 2020 secondhand
Reed Park pilot results reported in January 202017,000+ pieces of trash, 100 pieces of drug paraphernalia, 1,100+ service referrals, police called 1.6 times a dayAug to Dec 2019 secondhand
DTSM total budgetabout $9.45MFY2026-27 secondhand
Amount the petition takes$0.32M to $0.65M from Reed Park; $0.27M to $0.54M from DTSMfrom FY2027-28 inference

What we give up

Reed Park loses half to all of its paid ambassador shifts. In 2020 terms that is up to 228 hours a week of staffed presence at the restrooms and play areas. Downtown loses a quarter to half of the ambassador hours the city buys; the hours DTSM pays for from property-owner assessments continue. Fewer people would be watching restrooms, picking up needles and calling in problems, and residents would see it.

Why this works

Ambassadors manage what happens when people have nowhere to sleep. They can refer someone to outreach, but they cannot hand that person a bed. The 2019 Reed Park pilot logged more than 1,100 service referrals in five months (secondhand); no placement count was published. A bed gives each referral somewhere to go. Where cities added places to sleep, outdoor counts fell: after Culver City opened a safe-sleep village and a 73-unit Homekey site, its unsheltered count fell from 51 in 2025 to 38 in 2026, and 164 people were sheltered by city programs on count night (secondhand, Wave), and San Diego's auditor found its downtown drop went largely into safe-sleeping sites (audit). Where cities cleared areas without beds, people moved: RAND found about three of every four removed tents became vehicles or rough sleeping (RAND). Once fewer people sleep in Reed Park and downtown, fewer paid hours are needed to manage the effects.

The strongest case against

Ambassadors are the cheap option. In 2019 the city chose them precisely because a police post at Reed Park would cost more and make families feel unwelcome, and the pilot cut problems enough that residents asked to keep it. Restrooms in a busy neighborhood park stay usable because someone is there all day. Downtown is the city's sales and hotel tax engine, RAND says homelessness is concentrated in one downtown tract, and the World Cup in 2026 and the Olympics in 2028 will bring the biggest crowds the city has seen. Cutting downtown hours just as the city is trying to bring shoppers back sends the wrong signal to businesses that already pay extra assessments. And beds will not empty a park overnight: if the cut comes before the problem shrinks, the neighbors carry the cost.

Our answer

The cuts are staged, and the Reed Park cut is tied to people there having beds. A staffed presence stays either way. The March 2026 Realignment update added Public Safety Officers at Reed Park, the Promenade, Palisades Park, Tongva Park and the downtown garages, and the Downtown Services Unit now puts 8 to 10 police officers a day downtown (staff report, fact). DTSM's assessment-paid ambassadors continue. The downtown cut is a quarter to half of the city's share only. If beds open and the number of people living in the park does not fall, the Council can decline the Reed Park cut at the June 2027 budget.

Who decides

Who votes: Santa Monica City Council at the FY2027-29 budget. The City Manager negotiates the DTSM and park ambassador contracts within what the Council funds; the Council also approves DTSM's yearly work plan each July.
Votes needed: The two-year budget resolution passes with a majority of councilmembers present at adoption, which is 4 if all seven attend. Any budget change after adoption needs five affirmative votes (FY2025-27 Adopted Budget p.295; City Charter section 1505).
When: FY2027-29 biennial budget: study sessions about May 2027, adoption about June 2027 (inference from the June 2025 and June 2026 schedule). A mid-year change in Feb to Mar 2027 needs five votes.
Where the rule is written: santamonica.gov

The agenda or process

Questions people ask

Isn't this just moving money around?

Yes. It moves money from watching the problem to ending part of it. The ambassador contracts are ordinary General Fund spending the Council sets every budget.

Why not cut the police instead?

Police overtime is on the list too, but only after savings show up in audited numbers. Ambassadors and police do different jobs; this cut keeps police and park officers in place.

Will Reed Park get worse?

It could if the cut comes before people there have somewhere to go. That is why the Reed Park cut is tied to people there being placed indoors, and why the city's Public Safety Officers stay.

Does DTSM lose all its ambassadors?

No. Property owners pay for most of DTSM's services through their assessment. The petition trims a quarter to half of the city's added payment only.

Sources

FY2025-27 Operating Budget Line Item DetailBoth ambassador lines by year, and the Reed Park funding history
Council item, Fourth Modification to Agreement 10402 with DTSM, Jan 14, 2020Agreement history from Dec 6, 2016, Reed Park pilot start Aug 1, 2019, funding, total $5,252,439
Santa Monica Daily Press, Jan 13, 2020228 weekly hours, pilot results
DTSM 2008 Engineer's ReportAssessment district formation and ambassadors as a new service (secondhand via search summary)
Santa Monica Lookout, March 26, 201891% of 221 owners kept the district (secondhand)
DTSM, ambassador program expansion, 2021Safety ambassadors from April 1, 2021
DTSM ambassador and safety programs pageLegion Corporation, hours, duties
Yo! Venice, July 13, 2026DTSM FY2026-27 budget about $9.45M (secondhand)
Santa Monica Daily Press, May 4, 2023DTSM board weighed replacing ambassadors with security (secondhand)
Realignment Plan Update staff report, March 24, 2026Public Safety Officers at Reed Park; Downtown Services Unit 8 to 10 officers a day
Wave Publication on Culver CitySheltered count rose with new beds
San Diego City Auditor, April 2026Downtown drop moved into safe sleeping
RAND RRA4903-1Tents removed without places became rough sleeping
Petition city funding ledgerTake sizes and timing

Words on this page

ambassador: A uniformed, unarmed worker who patrols an area to help visitors, keep it clean, report problems to police and refer people to services.
budget plan: The second-year numbers in Santa Monica's two-year budget. The Council approves them in June of the first year and can revise them a year later.
Council discretionary funds: A small pot of money councilmembers can direct to one-time community needs.
Downtown Services Unit: A Santa Monica police unit assigned to the downtown core.
DTSM (Downtown Santa Monica Inc.): A private nonprofit that manages downtown's business district under contract with the city. Formerly Bayside District Corporation.
fiscal year (FY): The city's budget year, July 1 to June 30. FY2027-28 runs July 1, 2027 to June 30, 2028.
five affirmative votes: Santa Monica's rule for changing the budget after it is adopted: five of the seven councilmembers must vote yes.
General Fund: The city's main checking account. Most local taxes go in, and police, parks, libraries and most staff are paid out of it. Money in it can be moved by a Council vote.
Homekey: A state program that paid cities and counties to buy motels and other buildings for housing people who are homeless.
interim housing: A temporary place to sleep indoors with services, such as a shelter bed, a motel room or a tiny home, while someone waits for an apartment.
Non-Departmental: The part of the city budget for costs that do not belong to a single department, such as contracts and transfers.
PIT count: Point-in-Time count. A one-night count of people experiencing homelessness, done each January or February. Santa Monica's 2026 count found 718 people, 496 of them unsheltered.
property-based assessment district: A district where property owners vote to pay an extra yearly charge that funds services in that district, such as cleaning and security.
Public Safety Officer: A city employee, not a sworn police officer, who patrols parks and public spaces and enforces park rules.
RAND: A nonprofit research organization in Santa Monica that runs its own homeless counts and studies.
safe sleeping: A managed outdoor site with tents or sleeping spaces, security, restrooms and services.
Special Revenue Source Fund: A city account for money from specific sources, such as development agreements, that must be spent on set purposes.
unsheltered: Sleeping outdoors, in a vehicle or in a tent, instead of in a shelter.