Above:
Time is running out as the City of
Olympia works to address homelessness crisis options before the cold weather season approaches. The clock, along with other debris, was recently collected and placed in trash bags at
the Nickerson homeless encampment off Eastside Street in Olympia.
Total 2017 amount spent for encampment cleanup expenses is nearly $103,000
By
Janine Gates
Little
Hollywood
“We may all need to compromise,” said Olympia city councilmember Jim Cooper, who serves as chair of the council's finance committee.
Cooper was speaking of funding options for homeless response efforts and two proposed city sanctioned encampments at a four-hour city finance committee meeting held
July 31.
The committee is comprised of councilmembers Cooper, Lisa Parshley and Jessica Bateman.
As Cooper has said in the past, city funding
to address the homeless crisis is a new line of business for the council, and
all options need to be considered.
The city estimates that $1.4 million
will be needed annually to operate two city sanctioned homeless encampments.
The two locations, one on Union Avenue near Plum Street and the other on
Martin Way, will assist 80 people total.
An estimated $1.1 million total is needed for site improvements to both locations.
City staff has also proposed to direct $500,000 annually to other homeless response efforts. This amount could support other agencies that host campsites under the city’s proposed emergency housing ordinance for services such as garbage service and porta-potties.
The need for safe storage has also been identified as a critical service so people experiencing homelessness have a place to store their belongings.
At the meeting, Cooper suggested using Home Fund
money, a business and operations tax that has not been adjusted since the
1950s, dipping into parks funds, and using $500,000 to $1,000,000 per year of
general fund emergency reserves for no more than five years.
And while he said he doesn’t want to raise taxes, he
is open to using some of the non-voted utility tax, if that tax is extended an
additional three years.
“The cost to parks and other agencies from this crisis
is much higher (than past years). In fact, the cost to every department to deal
with this crisis is at some level part of (staff’s) job…I believe a short extension
on (parks) acquisition won’t hurt our city long term but it will help us
relieve pressure on our park system,” he said.
One example of these higher costs is for homeless
encampment clean-ups.
According to the city community planning and
development figures, the cumulative expenditures incurred by city park rangers
for homeless encampment clean-up at 24 citywide locations in 2017 totaled
$13,820.46.
Other clean-up efforts were contracted out for
cleaning up under bridges, drop box hauling, advanced environmental hauling,
resulting in a total 2017 amount spent for encampment cleanup expenses of
$102,991.04.
Councilmember Bateman expressed interest in using
capital funds as long as there is a clear plan that includes transitioning a temporary
shelter to long-term supportive housing.
She stated that she doesn’t want to touch general fund
reserves because those are for emergencies, however, the homelessness crisis is
an emergency, so use of those funds in that capacity seemed appropriate.
Councilmember Parshley wants to see a defined
repayment plan if reserves are used.
Parshley also sought clarification on whether she
needed to recuse herself because she has a veterinary business near the
proposed homeless encampment on Union Avenue. She was told by city legal
counsel that she can participate in the discussion but can recuse herself when
it comes time to a final vote on the issue.
In his support for using funds from the new Home Fund
sales tax for permanent supportive housing, Cooper said, “I really, truly
believe that conditions on the ground have changed since we asked the voters to
approve the Home Fund. They were changing in that time and we couldn’t
articulate it as clearly as we can today.”
“Where we’re going to get the money from is premature
if we don’t know how much it’s going to cost…. What we don’t want to do is
provide for a plan for homeless encampments and not achieve the objectives we
set out to achieve. We want to make sure…we’re on the right track,” said
Bateman.
Bateman and Parshley questioned the
site review, design and engineering costs for the two sites.
Cooper suggested putting two social
service providers and a one or two people who are homeless on the city’s formal
design team for operations and maintenance.
Staff appeared to agree, with city manager Steve Hall
saying, “Nothing has been figured out.”
That includes how it is determined who gets to stay in
the encampments, which the city is calling “The Villages.”
Bateman urged that the standard vulnerability index be used, as it is required for federal
funding and considered a “best practice.”
Cooper said he understood that, but also
believes in “best or better practices,” and wants to also look at other criteria
for admission.
The full council will hold another study session on funding options to address the homelessness crisis on Tuesday, August 21, 5:30 p.m., Olympia City Hall.
Emergency Reserves
Debbie Sullivan, city administrative services
director, told Little Hollywood this week that the city must keep a minimum of
10 percent of its general operating revenue in reserves.
The city currently has $7.8 million in its reserves, she said.
Reserves are important to financial advisers and determine
the city’s credit rating, which affects its ability and cost to borrow money.
If emergency reserves are used, they must be paid back with 2.3 percent
interest.
“We are very, very, cautious about using our emergency
reserves. If an emergency is declared, such as in the event of an earthquake,
we have to access those reserves,” Sullivan said.
Little
Hollywood often writes about homelessness issues, and unsheltered, street
dependent individuals. For more information about these issues, the Home Fund,
and the city’s recent purchase of property for housing the homeless, go to
Little Hollywood at www.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com and use the search button to type in keywords.
