Clallam County staff informed commissioners that the Washington State Department of Commerce allocated $445,167 in supplemental document-recording fee revenue to the county to help preserve and operate homelessness programs.

The funding is targeted primarily to maintain existing programs and service levels that assist people and families experiencing homelessness, staff said during the Aug. 4 work session.

Staff explained that eligible uses must align with statutory guidelines for local document-recording fee expenditures and that a subcommittee of the county's homelessness task force will re-evaluate prior proposals from the 2025 funding cycle and develop updated recommendations for distributing the supplemental funds. "These recommendations will first be presented to the homelessness task force for consideration and then forwarded to the county commissioners for final approval," a county staff member said.

Why it matters: Staff said the supplemental funds will allow the county to increase some contract amounts this year and "meaningfully right the ship" for the fund, though they cautioned the amount will not restore funding to prior pre-erosion levels caused by lower recording-fee revenue.

Timing and oversight: Staff said the county must provide the Department of Commerce with a plan describing how the funds will be used and that periodic reports will be required; the transcript records staff noting a quarterly reporting cadence for progress reports. The homelessness task force subcommittee has not formally agreed to reconvene for the review, staff said, and the board asked staff to return with results and a proposed allocation plan.

Next steps: Staff will convene the subcommittee to review allocations made earlier in 2025, develop funding recommendations and return to the board with those recommendations and a proposed plan to Commerce. No formal procurement or contract award was recorded during the Aug. 4 work session.