Deschutes County commissioners reshape homeless‑initiative funding; Mountain View seeks $188,500 to keep safe parking sites operating

Deschutes County commissioners spent more than an hour on Oct. 15 reviewing proposed reallocations of county property funds, reallocated ARPA and economic‑development dollars to cover current and projected costs for homeless initiatives. The board did not adopt final allocations but directed staff to return with a revised spreadsheet after coordinating with the City of Redmond.

Staff said the county’s Project Development Fund (Fund 090) — which receives some lease income and proceeds from property sales — currently funds many homeless initiatives and asset‑property work. Cam Sparks, the county’s budget and financial planning manager, said Fund 090 holds about $4,079,909 and generates roughly $188,000 in annual lease revenue; staff warned the fund is not self‑sustaining for long‑term homeless program costs.

County staff identified a roughly $1.7 million set of budgeted/projected homeless expenditures for fiscal year 2026 and said about $842,000 of those costs already have funding commitments, leaving an $874,119 shortfall. Staff requested reallocated ARPA funds of $567,963 (described as the last county ARPA funds earmarked for houselessness response) plus $150,000 from the county’s economic development fund to reduce…