Leon County approves CHSP realignment, delays MOU changes until after legislative session

The Leon County Board of County Commissioners voted to realign portions of the Community Human Services Partnership (CHSP) funding and to postpone changes to the memorandum of understanding that would set minimum awards and eliminate funding caps until after the Florida legislative session.

Commissioner Cummings moved — and Commissioner Proctor seconded — a substitute motion to approve option 1 (the funding realignment) while returning option 2 (MOU language on minimum awards and caps) to the board in March, "after the legislative session," with a status report on which entities the Children's Services Council (CSC) funded. The board approved the substitute motion (5–1) with Commissioner Maddox recused.

Why it matters: the realignment shifts some county CHSP dollars so CSC can fund expanded children‑services programs while the County redirects local dollars to emergency homeless‑shelter needs. Commissioners stressed the timing risk posed by pending state property‑tax proposals.

County staff explained the mechanics and timeline for the transition. Shinkton told commissioners the CSC will have roughly $3,000,000–$3,500,000 in program funding opportunities that align with prior CHSP programs and that many programs could still apply to CHSP if not funded by CSC. Commissioner Minor emphasized that CSC’s ballot measure (approved by voters in 2020) is expected to yield about $9,000,000 for children’s services in FY26, a figure she contrasted with the county’s historical CHSP children’s allocation of about $3,800,000.

Several commissioners urged caution about committing to administrative changes before the state legislature completes work that could reduce property‑tax revenues. Commissioner Proctor said, "We're not even sure, Mr. Chairman, what our status financially would be," and asked for contingency language tying MOU changes to the property‑tax vote. Staff replied that CSC awards will be announced before the CHSP application window closes and agreed to provide a March report showing which programs were accepted by CSC and which were not.

The board’s action preserves the immediate realignment designed to maintain funding for homeless‑shelter line items while deferring structural MOU changes that set minimum awards or remove caps. The item passed with commissioners voting to authorize option 1 now and to return option 2 to a later meeting with the requested status report.

Next steps: staff will notify applicants of the timing changes, CSC will announce awards before the CHSP window closes, and county staff will present the March status report listing funded and unfunded entities and any recommended MOU language changes.