Butler County commissioners voted to approve an amendment to the contract with Community Development Professionals LLC (CDP) to administer the Butler County Continuum of Care program, commonly called Shelter Plus Care, for an amount not to exceed $1,517,008, effective Sept. 1, 2025, through Aug. 31, 2026. The board approved the renewal during its public meeting and scheduled additional review of outstanding questions for the following week.

The contract is the annual renewal under a competitive procurement process the county completed in April 2024 to select an administrator for the balance‑of‑state Continuum of Care grant. The program provides rental assistance and related administrative services for qualifying households; the renewal as presented covers one program year of administration services.

Commissioner Dixon raised detailed questions about line‑item billing for case management in the contract and asked whether the current approach diverts funds from rental assistance. “I noticed that they bill for $21,120 a month for case management,” Dixon said, adding that many program participants should be eligible for Medicaid and other local case‑management services and asking whether the $21,120 could be redirected to rental assistance. Dixon also questioned how often administrators must visit participants, citing the contract language that appeared to bill for “one hour a week for every single individual.”

Staff from county development acknowledged receiving written questions and said they needed more time to respond. A county staff member noted they had received a packet of questions the previous day and could not fully answer them in the meeting: “I did receive a request yesterday with about 8 or 9 different questions, but I would need a little bit of time to do research on that. I can't answer that this morning.”

County staff and Dixon discussed HUD’s monitoring expectations for voucher programs. A staff member described what they understood as a HUD requirement for periodic wellness checks of voucher recipients, but acknowledged uncertainty over frequency: “I believe that is a requirement… maybe it's once a month, but I believe it's like once a month.” Dixon called the apparent administrative cost “extraordinary” and asked whether the county could restructure services so more dollars went directly to rental assistance and partner case‑management agencies.

Because landlords expect rent payments to continue on schedule, staff cautioned against delaying contract execution too long. After discussion, the board approved the contract amendment but Commissioners agreed to revisit the contract and Dixon’s questions at a meeting the following week.

Discussion only: county staff said they would research the billing details and HUD monitoring requirements, and meet with the commissioner to answer written questions. Direction: commissioners scheduled follow‑up review next week to address Dixon’s concerns. Formal action: the board approved the contract amendment for CDP’s administration of the Continuum of Care program for the 2025–26 year, with commissioners voting in the affirmative and agreeing to reconsider related questions at the next meeting.

The renewal begins Sept. 1; staff said they will provide answers to the written questions and a contract review at the follow‑up meeting.