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 the gap; the remaining shortfall would fall to Fund 090 unless other sources are identified.

Managed camp and Taylor Northwest contract: Commissioners also discussed a $145,000 construction overage on the Taylor Northwest bid to build infrastructure related to the county’s managed camp (East Redmond). Staff said the county previously approved an intergovernmental agreement that included up to $500,000 for two years of camp operations (roughly $250,000 per year) and that the IGA language required the county to make “good faith efforts” to budget up to $250,000 per year. Redmond city council split a vote 3‑3 the night before, leaving uncertainty about the city contribution. Commissioners discussed delaying final award but issuing a notice of intent to award so the procurement appeal period can run while the city and county seek an agreement. Commissioners suggested splitting the $145,000 overage if Redmond participates; half the overage would be $72,559.50.

Safe parking funding request: During public comment, Rick Russell, executive director of Mountain View Community Development, asked the board to fill a funding gap for the agency’s safe parking program. Russell said Mountain View operates eight sites in Redmond (38 spaces) and three sites in Bend (plus a fourth coming online) and that last year the program served 129 people — 41 of them children — and placed 45 into permanent housing (he said 72% of participants either were rehoused or remained sheltered). He said the program’s operating cost is about $15 per participant per day. Russell asked the county to help bridge a current gap of $188,500 after the program failed to receive a state MAC allocation this year and after multiple other reductions; he said the organization has secured roughly $180,000 in new commitments and was seeking additional local support to sustain operations through July, when it will be eligible again for state funds.

Commissioner discussion and staff direction: Commissioners voiced concern about approving large reallocations before the city of Redmond finished its internal deliberations. Several commissioners recommended coordinating with Redmond on Nov. 3, then returning to the board with a refined funding plan; staff said a joint meeting with Redmond is scheduled Nov. 3. Staff offered a tentative reallocation proposal discussed by commissioners: use $70,000 of available ARPA toward East Redmond managed camp overage (rather than the full $140,000), shift $30,000 county contribution for a separate fencing project to ARPA, increase the economic development fund allocation for the DSL land transfer cleanup from $150,000 to $200,000 and reassign remaining adjustments to Fund 090. Commissioners voted to direct staff to prepare a revised spreadsheet incorporating those tentative edits and return to the board for final approval. No final budget transfers were executed on Oct. 15.

Other context raised at the meeting: Commissioners and public speakers stressed the connection between shelter capacity and workforce availability, and discussed the difficulty of relying on one‑time ARPA funds for ongoing shelter operations. Several speakers urged the board to consider program fees, local funding sustainability and regional coordination, including the role of the Coordinated Homeless Response Office and the Continuum of Care.

What's next: Staff will prepare a revised funding spreadsheet reflecting the changes discussed and coordinate with Redmond city staff before returning to the board. Mountain View Community Development indicated it will seek other private commitments and requested the county consider a portion of the requested $188,500 while the group seeks private donors.