Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Housing topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council asked to expand relocation fund to pay for cooling/heating and weatherization services
Summary
Staff proposed amending the legal services and relocation fund to allow use of funds (2% of hard funds) for cooling, heating and weatherization assistance; staff cited assessor data showing many seniors/disabled households lack cooling and said program design (targeting, procurement) will follow.
Staff proposed an ordinance to expand the legal services and relocation fund to permit cooling, heating and weatherization assistance in addition to relocation assistance for tenants in substandard housing. The fund—fed at about 2% of hard funds—has historically been used for relocation payments in code enforcement cases.
Adam and other staff said the idea is to use existing capacity in the fund to support low‑cost or no‑cost measures delivered through partners (SNAP, Avista, low‑income housing consortium) and to leverage targeted outreach based on data. Staff noted a preliminary assessment showed many senior and disabled utility customers lack cooling: "about 70% of them, according to assessor data, have no cooling," staff said, which informs the program’s equity goals.
Council members asked whether the program would target renters as well as homeowners and whether the program would use portable devices versus larger installations; staff replied the ordinance only authorizes the use of funds and that program design (device selection, procurement, outreach and targeting) will be developed next, with options ranging from portable cooling devices to more comprehensive retrofits.
Next steps: staff will return with program design options, procurement approaches and potential partnerships, and the ordinance is structured to allow pilot activities while staff completes details.
