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Council approves Homeless Housing & Services awards after amendment to boost Mission 9‑11 funding
Summary
Council voted to approve the city’s TDHCA Homeless Housing and Services Program awards with a last‑minute amendment that increased Mission 9‑11’s grant by $25,000 and directed staff to finalize amended budgets and metrics for second reading.
City Council approved a resolution on March 25 appropriating the city’s 2025 Homeless Housing and Services Program (HHSP) awards after deliberation and a late amendment to increase funding to 1 provider.
Staff presented a competitive scoring process for the HHSP general and youth set‑aside funds. Of the applicants, the highest‑scoring proposals were from MHID (mental health and intellectual disabilities authority) and Mission 9‑11 (a local nonprofit). The staff recommendation allocated $164,198 for the general HHSP award (to MHID in the staff recommendation) and $53,111 for the youth set‑aside (Mission 9‑11 in staff recommendation).
Council discussion focused on selection criteria and whether the relatively small award to Mission 9‑11 provided sufficient funding for a community provider that focuses on case management and rapid re‑housing services. Councilmembers asked about the NOFA outreach and whether smaller grassroots providers could feasibly administer federal grant expectations and reporting requirements. Staff said the scoring weighted case management and the ability to maintain HMIS reporting and compliance; staff also noted that the city lacks dedicated staff capacity to administer many small federal contracts.
Amendment and outcome: After discussion councilmember(s) moved to approve staff’s recommended awards but to amend the general HHSP allocation by transferring $25,000 from the top award to increase Mission 9‑11’s award (bringing Mission 9‑11’s allocation to about $75,000). Staff said both organizations agreed to submit revised budgets and performance metrics and that the council would consider the revised amounts on the second reading of the ordinance. The council voted and the motion carried.
Why it matters: The funds are federal/state‑administered homeless services dollars intended for activities such as case management, rental assistance and other eligible services. Councilmembers said they favored concentrating awards with providers that can demonstrate program capacity and HMIS reporting but also asked staff to consider ways to increase smaller providers’ access to funding in the future.
Ending: Staff will return with revised budgets and performance metrics for both recipients ahead of second reading; councilmembers also urged staff to explore ways to build nonprofit capacity for federal grants administration in future cycles.
