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Council extends funding and seeks RFP after review of city’s tenant 'right-to-counsel' pilot
Summary
After a presentation from Legal Aid, council directed staff to maintain funding for a year while developing a request for proposals and exploring county collaboration to expand access to evictions-related legal services.
The City Council on April 29 directed staff to continue status-quo funding for the Access to Legal Counsel pilot and to develop a procurement plan while exploring collaborative options with the county and other partners.
Housing and Human Services Manager Laura Doubles presented the program update and said the one-year pilot—funded with $250,000 set aside from a prior general-fund surplus—began August 1 and is contracted to run through July 31. Legal Aid Foundation Executive Director Jennifer Smith said the program was staffed in September, has served lower-income city residents and has already produced cash settlement and other benefits for clients.
"The pilot program has reached 63% of the goal," Laura Doubles told the council, referring to a target of serving 80 additional households this contract year. Jennifer Smith said many of the program’s cases involved notices to terminate tenancy and unlawful-detainer proceedings, and she described examples where attorney intervention led to waived rent, settlements or preservation of housing vouchers.
After questions from council members about staffing, historical funding, and whether the city should issue a request for proposals (RFP), Council member Sneddon moved and Council member Harmon seconded a motion to keep funding at the current level for another year while staff designs an RFP and explores possible county partnerships. The motion passed unanimously by roll call.
Smith and Doubles told the council the contract requires 60 days’ notice if the city elects to terminate the agreement early; staff asked for direction to avoid interrupting ongoing client representation. Council members asked Legal Aid to provide more detailed historical funding information and pledged to include a procurement path that preserves continuity for active cases.
Council members also suggested the city consider creative models, including joint city–county attorney placements or other partnerships that could expand service capacity beyond the city’s funding allocation.
The council asked staff to bring an RFP scope or an update to the finance committee before finalizing procurement and to invite Legal Aid to supply additional data once its newly hired attorney starts work in May. The motion as adopted directs staff to maintain funding for the next year and begin the RFP/collaboration process with a goal of avoiding service interruption.
