Council hears options to use roughly $100,000 for eviction prevention and to prioritize grants after state cuts

Staff updated the council on local eviction-prevention capacity and grant options following major state cuts. Megan Cohen said the state made large reductions to eviction-prevention programs (quoted in the presentation as a 75% cut representing about $129 million in June 2025). Cohen and Nicole Morris reviewed local supports, program costs and the citys outside agency grant program options.

Cohen presented regional eviction data from a public dashboard and noted that roughly 4,800 evictions were filed in the last 12 months in the tri-county area; she said most filings (about 95%) were for nonpayment and that representation rates differ between tenants and landlords. Local providers named in the discussion included Just Compassion (which operates a housing-related social needs program), Family Promise (which provides rent-assistance support with an average assistance amount of about $4,500 per household), and Community Action (which administers utility-assistance funds under contract). Cohen said Tualatin contracts with Community Action for a water-bill assistance program, paying $7,800 in administrative costs and expending roughly $7,500 this fiscal year in assistance.

Nicole Morris described the outside agency grant program, which began in 2014 at $24,000 and has grown to $50,000. In the prior fiscal year 19 partner agencies received awards between $1,000 and $5,000. Staff presented options for council direction: keep the program unchanged; maintain funding but add criteria prioritizing eviction-prevention applications; increase the overall funding level and use the increase for eviction prevention; or pursue eviction-prevention approaches outside the outside-agency program.

Councilors discussed administrative overhead and program design. Councilor Hillier raised concerns about the proportion of funds going to administrative costs for utility-assistance contracts and urged a balance of upstream prevention and downstream supports. Several councilors suggested earmarking the roughly $100,000 in leftover funds (Tualatins proposed share from the three-city split) as a multiyear eviction-prevention resource to get measurable results and to keep the broader outside-agency grant program available for other community services. Staff said they will bring more details about administration, potential providers (Family Promise identified as a likely local administrator), guidelines and outreach plans for how such funds could be deployed.