Council weighs $100,000 county share for countywide homelessness systems analysis

Councilors on the Clark County Council on April 1 discussed a proposal from Ending Community Homelessness Organization (ECHO) to hire a consultant to perform a countywide systems analysis of homelessness and related systems, with a proposed budget of about $200,000 and Clark County asked to cover half.

Jordan Bogey, speaking as a staff presenter, told the council ECHO’s request would fund a consultant to examine how systems outside the crisis-response network—behavioral health, health care, affordable housing, land use, children’s programming and criminal justice—interact with homelessness. “This would be a not-to-exceed kind of RFP contract,” Bogey said, describing the procurement approach and that the county’s share could be funded from community services funds.

The proposal calls for the county to contribute roughly $100,000 and for the participating cities to split the remaining half on a population-proportional basis; Bogey said Vancouver would bear the largest city share because it accounts for about 35% of the cities’ combined population. Bogey described the analysis as broader than the Council for the Homeless’ mandated homelessness dashboards and federal/state reporting, aiming to identify cross-system gaps and actionable policy options.

Several councilors sought clarity on scope and outcomes. Councilor Belkot questioned how the study differs from Council for the Homeless’s existing dashboards and annual reports and whether the consultant would duplicate work already paid for by other entities. Multiple councilors asked whether county staff could do the analysis more efficiently and pressed for “actionable items,” not just an inventory of barriers. One councilor summarized the ask: this is a preliminary step and final approval, including any budget allocation, would return to a regular Tuesday council meeting.

Councilors also asked for more robust participation from ECHO or staff at a future meeting. Bogey and other supporters said nearly every city but La Center had indicated willingness to participate and that an interlocal agreement or memorandum of understanding would be needed before issuing an RFP. A speaker for ECHO’s member jurisdictions said the analysis is intended to account for impacts across incorporated cities and unincorporated Clark County, not just Vancouver.

The council did not make a funding decision at the meeting. Members urged ECHO and staff to return with more detail—cost breakdowns, alternatives to a $200,000 external contract, expected deliverables and explicit, measurable recommendations—before any allocation of county funds. The item was deferred for further information and a follow-up presentation.

Next steps: Councilors asked staff to invite ECHO representatives and community services staff back to present a detailed scope, potential alternatives and the specific outcomes that would be required to justify county funds.