Commissioner Baumann told the Board of Commissioners on April 13 that a Washington state homeless system performance report shows deeply divergent cost figures for Franklin County and asked the administrator to investigate and bring county contractors in to explain.

Baumann said the statewide average cited in the report is $96 per day and that "in Franklin County, we spend over $1,800," a multiple he said demands explanation. He continued, saying the county’s self-reported data show "emergency shelter cost over a million dollars to exit somebody from that system in Franklin County." Baumann asked Administrator Danzel to follow up with the local operator and report back to the board.

Baumann framed the request as a records- and performance-review matter: the same organization operates services in both Benton and Franklin counties, he said, and that office’s reported metrics show enormous disparities. "If that's the case, we'd like to have an understanding of of why that we're, you know, $65 versus 1,800 in the same office that does the same thing in the same community," Baumann said, referring to a Benton County comparison cited in the report.

Administrator Danzel accepted the request and agreed to gather information so the board could better understand whether the differences reflect reporting methods, program scope or other factors. Baumann said the state figures are self-reported by the organizations that operate the homeless response system and asked the administrator to invite those operators to a future meeting to explain the numbers.

No formal action or funding decision was taken at the April 13 meeting; the board directed staff to investigate and report back.

Ending: The administrator will seek documentation and a presentation from the service operator to clarify the reported cost differences and the data sources used in the state report.