Douglas County directs staff to design $40,000 tenant-eviction defense pilot after heated public debate

Douglas County commissioners narrowly approved a motion to direct county staff to develop a tenant-eviction defense pilot program using $40,000 the commission had already set aside in the 2026 budget.

Staff presentations described a limited pilot focused on brief legal advice and potentially limited representation for eligible tenants, modeled in part on Topeka’s eviction-defense program. Jill and Sarah (county staff) told commissioners the $40,000 is a partial-year amount intended to test demand, gather local data and identify metrics to inform a potential 2027 budget request. Staff said the pilot would not guarantee a universal "right to counsel" because the funding is limited; rather, it would provide targeted legal help and reporting on outcomes.

"I cannot with this dollar amount, I cannot guarantee right to access," staff said, explaining the proposed program is intentionally small and designed to generate evidence to guide later budget decisions.

Legal-service providers at the table described capacity constraints and how a local pilot could operate. Hetty Pierce Armstrong, a civil attorney with Kansas Holistic Defenders, said her office prioritizes past clients and those with clear technical defenses such as notice defects, and estimated most local evictions are filed for nonpayment. "In this community, most evictions are filed under nonpayment," she said, adding that many matters are resolved before trial. Trey Duran, an attorney with Kansas Legal Services (Topeka office), said funding and eligibility rules for legal-aid grants shape which clients can be served.

Public comment was large and sharply divided. Supporters, including tenants, housing advocates and homelessness-prevention groups, urged the county to pilot tenant access to counsel as part of the county's "Place for Everyone" plan; several speakers cited results in other cities showing represented tenants are more likely to remain housed. Opponents—many self-described small local landlords—argued the pilot is unfair to owners, could raise long-term county costs and that rental assistance or mediation would better prevent evictions. "If you want to keep people housed now, give them rental assistance," one commissioner echoed in the debate.

Commissioners debated metrics and scope before voting. Supporters said the modest $40,000 pilot would produce localized intake data not available from public court filings—information such as defendants' reasons for eviction, whether technical defenses exist, and whether referral to rental assistance succeeded. Several commissioners also urged outreach to the City of Lawrence and existing partners (Self Help Center, Housing Authority, Bert Nash) so the pilot complements upstream solutions.

The motion directing county administration to develop a tenant-eviction defense pilot and return a final program for review passed 3–2. The board asked staff to solicit proposals (staff suggested an informal solicitation), define evaluation metrics, report quarterly and include a placeholder for a 2027 budget request if the pilot shows promise.

What the pilot will track: staff and partners said they will seek to capture number of people served, types of legal assistance (brief advice vs. full representation), case-level outcomes (dismissal, negotiated move-out dates), connection to rental assistance and landlord responses. The pilot is expected to start in mid-2026 if agreements are in place.

Next steps: County administration will draft a pilot program outline and solicitation, work with community partners on logistics and reporting, and return to the commission with a recommended contract and metrics for review.