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Clatsop County outlines shelter funding formula, distributes roughly $1.7 million to local providers
Summary
Assistant County Manager Monica briefed commissioners on regional shelter funding and an allocation formula that uses a $2,500 base per-bed amount plus multipliers; staff said the county capped administrative fees at 7% and distributed roughly $1.7 million among four providers with differing per-bed rates.
Assistant County Manager Monica told the board the county has been administering regional shelter funding since an initial executive-order distribution in 2023 and that funding allocations have shifted as bed capacity increased. "We basically then just created subrecipient funding agreements for those monies," she said, adding that the first pot was $2,500,000 for a two-year period.
For the current fiscal year (described in the briefing as FY25–26), Monica said the county expected a pot of roughly $1,800,000 and that the county and providers could each keep administrative amounts but that the county capped admin at 7% to prioritize provider services. "So once you take the county's admin portion out, there's approximately $1,700,000 that's being distributed," she said.
Monica described the funding formula: a base allocation of $2,500 per bed plus multipliers for facilities that operate 24/7 or that connect clients to mental-health and substance-use-disorder services. She reported recent bed expansions and provider-specific allocations: CCA (97 beds) receiving $747,981 (about $7,700 per bed), Lifeboat (22 beds) $112,322 (about $5,100 per bed), Helping Hands (95 beds) $732,005.59, and the Harbor (16 beds) $92,111. Monica stressed the county recognizes the dollars do not fully fund operations and encouraged providers to use diverse funding streams.
Commissioners asked about low-barrier versus recovery-based beds; Monica said the funding formula did not differentiate between those bed types for distribution and that locally about 80% of beds are low-barrier (183 of 228 beds) while 20% are recovery-based (45 beds). She also noted nightly vacancy reporting and coordination with hospitals, crisis teams and law enforcement to direct people to available beds.
Commissioners expressed concern about long-term sustainability if funding shrinks in future biennia; staff said the county is working to create an adaptable system and emphasized preserving bed capacity as the primary objective.
Next steps: staff will continue coordination with providers and update the county's homelessness/MAC web page and FAQs; commissioners requested continued monitoring of vacancies and provider financial health.
