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Lifeboat Services tells commissioners county funding formula would cut shelter funding by 27%
Summary
Lifeboat Services told the Clatsop County Board it received a state award to create low-barrier shelter beds but faces a county funding formula that would reduce its allocation by about $170,000 (27%) in fiscal 2025; Lifeboat alleges the county pressured it to sign an inequitable funding agreement and requests board review.
Erin Carlson, associate director of Lifeboat Services, told the Clatsop County Board of Commissioners during public comment that Lifeboat received $1,250,000 in 2023 from a state emergency directive to create low-barrier shelter beds and that the organization has operated a 22-bed shelter serving people with high needs. "We created our shelter program with a budget of $625,000 a year," Carlson said, adding the program had no funds left at the end of the biennium.
Carlson said the county's funding formula would allocate $454,000 to Lifeboat for the 2025 fiscal year — a $170,000 decrease from prior support — while allocating $896,000 to the Columbia Inn, another shelter partner. "This is not coming from the state. It is coming from the county," Carlson said, and she cited language the county posted saying the two providers would share 75% of the county allocation to sustain new shelter beds.
A Lifeboat representative later said staff were told that reducing nights or beds would trigger further funding cuts and described being "strong-armed" into signing a funding agreement they view as inequitable. The Lifeboat speaker urged commissioners to visit the shelter, review differences in service models and staffing needs, and reconsider the funding allocation, saying the county formula counts beds without accounting for differing shelter models and costs.
Commissioners did not debate or vote on funding at the meeting; they listened to the testimony and thanked Lifeboat for coming forward. The board did not provide immediate responses to the funding allegation in the public record, and Lifeboat asked the commission to clarify the formula, hold conversations with providers and consider the operational differences between a low-barrier shelter and a transitional housing model.
The board has scheduled follow-up business on December 10 for other items; Lifeboat asked for direct engagement from commissioners before any final funding commitment.
