County commissioners press Metro for clearer fiscal impacts, partnership and realistic timelines on Supportive Housing Services reform

Washington County commissioners spent extensive time on Jan. 28 reviewing draft county comments on Metro's proposed referral and transition ordinances for Supportive Housing Services (SHS), pressing for clearer fiscal analysis, explicit partnership language, and more realistic timelines before county staff and providers are required to implement major changes.

Commissioners and county staff said the draft ordinances and referral lack key fiscal detail. County staff asked Metro to provide public, transparent estimates of the revenue and the fiscal impacts before any final decisions on revenues or tax thresholds are made. Commissioners repeatedly raised concerns about administrative burdens from new reporting and record requests, and warned that an overly broad reporting mandate could jeopardize multiyear contracts with service providers.

County staff also flagged governance and implementation questions. The draft creates a large advisory body (referred to in work materials as H2PAC or similar) whose size and charge prompted formal concerns: commissioners said a committee of the proposed size would be difficult to operate…