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County approves $500,000 hotel placement contract and updates indigent-burial vendors; officials say backlog cleared
Summary
The Board approved a two-year $500,000 contract for emergency hotel placement and established a qualified list of funeral vendors for indigent burials. County staff said a pandemic-era backlog was cleared and that 92 indigent burials were completed; vendors are paid once correct invoices are submitted, typically within about two weeks.
The Board approved a contract with Halsey Associates’ Village Hotel to provide emergency hotel/motel placement for unhoused individuals and families from Dec. 1, 2024, through Nov. 30, 2026, not to exceed $500,000.
Donald Bradley, deputy director for the Department of Citizen Services, presented the contract and commissioners approved it by roll call. Vice President Cooper said he supported expanding options to assist people in need.
On the related agenda items, the Board also approved a qualified list to provide funeral services for indigent or unclaimed individuals and a separate resolution (number 88) that formalized three approved vendors and corrected a typo on the agenda to show the correct total of $1,000,000 for the two-year contract term (reported as $500,000 per year).
Alexis Blunt, who assists with indigent burials in the Division of Family Assistance and Benefits, and purchasing agent Julius Cultry described the vendor process. Blunt told commissioners the county had addressed a pandemic-era backlog and reported that staff had performed 92 indigent burials. Cultry said three vendors responded to the request for qualifications; the county would welcome more participation. Blunt said properly documented invoices typically move through the payment chain and are paid in about two weeks once submitted to her office.
Commissioner questions touched on vendor participation levels, the per-case payment amount for indigent burials (Blunt said the county raised the rate last year from about $3,077 to $4,000), and which offices provide technical assistance to vendors in submitting paperwork. County staff said funeral vendors work with the Division of Family Assistance and Benefits and the county’s purchasing department when invoicing and that invoicing delays were usually due to missing paperwork rather than county refusal to pay.
Commissioners approved the hotel contract (resolution 5), the qualified vendor list for indigent burials (resolution 6), and the vendor contract package (resolution 88) in successive roll-call votes.
