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Board reviews housing and behavioral-health funding recommendations and holds reserve for single-adult emergency shelter
Summary
County staff presented competitive funding recommendations from the Housing and Behavioral Health Advisory Board, noting an 18% reduction in funds and the creation of a $310,000 reserve for emergency single-adult shelter; commissioners gave staff a tentative nod to draft contracts with final contract approvals to return to the board.
County staff presented funding recommendations from the Housing and Behavioral Health Advisory Board for homelessness response programs and outlined reserves for emergency shelter on June 24.
Why it matters: Staff said the county's homeless-response allocations were roughly 18% less than in the prior two years, and the advisory board conducted a competitive request-for-proposals process. The board scored eight applicant organizations with 18 proposed projects and recommended awards based on the competitive scores.
Staff told commissioners they held a reserve of $310,000 intended for emergency shelter for single adults, a service the county currently lacks after the previous provider closed. The briefing notes showed an initial fund-book figure of $99,000 from the specific fund source and explained that the rest of the $310,000 reserve could come from allowable alternate fund sources or inflationary funds that must be distributed differently.
Melissa, the public-health staff member presenting the item, said the advisory board used a standardized scoring method and tried to balance funding across applicants. "We tried to take as balanced approach and treat everybody exactly the same way. And the ones who got the best score got the money," she said. Staff said contracts will be drafted and returned to the board for review; commissioners were asked whether to move the recommendations to the action agenda or to let staff continue contract development before formal board approval. Several commissioners indicated support for staff moving forward with contract development while returning final contracts to the board for action.
Next steps: Staff will draft contracts based on the recommended awards, pull funds from the reserve as necessary for emergency shelter planning, and bring individual contracts back to the board for formal approval. The contracts are expected to be effective July 1 and staff said they would work quickly to complete the signings and distribute funds.
