Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Homelessness Services topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Edmonds seeks authority to use $7,500 county first-responder flex fund for people experiencing homelessness
Summary
Police Chief Rod Sniffen asked Committee A to authorize the city to participate in a Snohomish County Human Services agreement that would allow Edmonds to spend an annual $7,500 allocation on hotels, supplies and durable goods for residents experiencing homelessness; staff recommended placing the agreement on the consent agenda.
Edmonds Police Chief Rod Sniffen told the City Council Committee A on March 4 that the city is seeking authority to use a $7,500 annual allocation from Snohomish County Human Services designated for people experiencing homelessness.
The money is limited to residents experiencing homelessness and may be used for hotel stays, durable goods and supplies, Sniffen said. “What we're asking here is just to secure an opportunity to use the $7,500 that the Snohomish County Human Services allots us annually to use for, people experiencing homelessness,” he said.
The funding requires an agreement with Snohomish County Human Services. Sniffen said the arrangement is a reimbursement contract and will not affect Edmonds’ 2025–26 biennial budget. He described the request as a reinstatement of a practice the city has used in prior years and said the city has other funding streams for similar purposes, including donated funds from churches and a city homeless fund that has not yet been tapped. “This is kind of an important piece or important tool for [the embedded social worker] to have in her tool belt when doing her work,” Sniffen said.
Committee members raised no objections to placing the agreement on the consent agenda for full council approval. Council Member Bill (last name not specified in transcript) thanked Snohomish County for partnering with the city. Sniffen said staff will bring the interlocal agreement forward and that the item would need to appear on the consent agenda.
The transcript shows no formal vote at the committee; staff recommended the mayor be authorized to sign the county agreement and the committee agreed to send the item to consent.
Details recorded in the meeting packet include the county agreement terms and the limits on eligible uses; Sniffen said the agreement and its rules were included in the committee packet for review. No timeline for deployment of funds beyond the annual allocation was specified in the discussion.
The committee discussion concluded with agreement to place the county agreement on a future consent agenda along with the necessary paperwork.
