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County sets aside $10,000 for bus passes and shower access for Code Blue guests
Summary
Legislature authorized $10,000 from the contingency fund to pay for bus passes and day passes for showers (e.g., YMCA) for Code Blue shelter guests; administration said DSS could administer transportation assistance and staff will coordinate providers.
The Tompkins County Legislature unanimously approved a motion on Dec. 17 to set aside $10,000 from the county contingency fund to provide bus passes and pay for shower access as part of Code Blue shelter services.
Legislator Mike Sigler made the motion to purchase bus passes and cover daily YMCA shower fees and to explore other shower options; Susan seconded. "We start with $10,000 out of contingency to develop a bus pass and shower program," Sigler said when offering the resolve. Staff and legislators discussed administrative and gifting constraints, with administration and DSS staff saying transportation assistance and shower fees can be provided as usual shelter benefits and that some coordination with providers (for example, YMCA) would be needed.
County staff said some shower options had been considered but facility constraints at the emergency shelter limited installing an on-site truck. The legislature agreed the code blue allocation should be the primary payer and the contingency set-aside would backfill if state Code Blue reimbursements fall short. The motion directed administration to coordinate logistics and report back as needed.
Officials suggested partnering with existing local resources (the Learning Web, YMCA, Salvation Army) and using shelter staff to distribute passes and track shower use. The legislature characterized the $10,000 as a short-term, flexible measure to get immediate relief to people experiencing homelessness while staff work through longer-term arrangements.
