Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Housing Legal Services topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Board previews $465,761 contract with Metropolitan Public Defender to support Housing for Success program
Summary
County staff presented a proposed $465,761 personal services contract with Metropolitan Public Defender to provide on-demand civil legal services (eviction defense, expungement, appeals, accommodation requests) as part of the Housing for Success program; staff said services fill an on-demand gap for a cohort of ~110–135 households.
Mary Rumbaugh, director of Health, Housing and Human Services, and Vahid Brown, division director of Housing and Community Development, briefed the board on a proposed personal services contract with Metropolitan Public Defender to provide civil legal services that support the newly launched Housing for Success program.
Staff described the contract—$465,761 for two years and four months funded through Metro Supportive Housing Services (SHS) measure funds and not by county general funds—as intended to provide on-demand legal assistance tailored to households transitioning off long-term rental assistance. Services identified in the contract include eviction defense, eviction-record expungement, pre-eviction dispute resolution, housing denial appeals, reasonable-accommodation requests, debt negotiation, criminal-record expungement, warrant resolution and driver's-license restoration.
Vahid Brown said other community legal providers run periodic expungement clinics that are open to the public, but those services are not available "on demand" for households enrolled in the Housing for Success program, which has slots budgeted for about 135 households and a likely enrollment target of roughly 110 households. Brown said the contract would fund dedicated capacity—potentially including a funded staff position—to ensure enrolled households can access legal services quickly during a three-year rent-assistance window designed to move households toward financial self-sufficiency.
Commissioners raised concerns about duplication with existing services and whether the contract represents the best use of SHS funds; several requested additional time to review capacity, waiting-list information and staffing details. The board indicated a consensus to place the contract on the forthcoming Thursday agenda for formal consideration and asked staff to provide follow-up answers to commissioner questions ahead of that meeting.
No final contract approval occurred during the briefing; staff committed to follow up and to return with further detail.
