Fiscal Note
The proposed resolution authorizes the City, on behalf of the Dane County Continuum of Care (CoC), to accept up to $625,890 in EHH grant award funding from the State of Wisconsin Department of Administration for the performance period October 1, 2026 - September 30, 2027. The Community Development Division's 2026 Adopted Operating Budget included an estimate for the 2026-2027 EHH award that totaled $675,000 in the Community Development Grants Multi-Year Fund. The 2026-2027 EHH projects will be adjusted as follows:
Emergency Solutions Grants (Munis project #83026,GL account 67213101-42110/54820-00000): -55,861
Homeless Prevention Program (Munis project #83126,GL account 67213101-42210/54820-00000): +56,751
Housing Assistance Program (Munis project #83226,GL account 67213101-42210/54820-00000): -50,000
Total 2026-2027 program adjustments: -49,110
No additional appropriation is required with adoption of this resolution.
Title
Authorizing the City of Madison, on behalf of the Dane County Continuum of Care (CoC), to accept an aggregate 2026-2027 EHH grant award of up to $625,890 from the State of Wisconsin Department of Administration; authorizing the Mayor and City Clerk to execute agreements with specific Dane County CoC agencies selected by the CoC Board of Directors to receive the EHH funds; and amending the Community Development Division's 2026 Adopted Operating Budget to reflect the receipt and commensurate expenditure of the funds.
Body
BACKGROUND
The City of Madison works closely with Dane County Continuum of Care (CoC) member agencies that serve people experiencing homelessness and those at risk of becoming homeless, and provides leadership and administrative support to the group. This collaborative work includes the City's administration, via its Community Development Division (CDD), of the State of Wisconsin EHH grant (EHH) on behalf of the Dane County CoC.
EHH funds combine the HUD Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) Program, and the State of Wisconsin Homeless Prevention Program (HPP) and Housing Assistance Program (HAP). These funds are used to support a range of homeless services activities, including emergency shelter services, street outreach initiatives, homelessness prevention efforts, rapid re-housing programs, other housing programs, and administration.
Annually, the State Department of Administration's Division of Energy, Housing, and Community Resources (DEHCR) ("the State") distributes available EHH grant funds across four Wisconsin Continua of Care (CoCs) serving the Dane, Milwaukee, Racine, and Balance of State regions. The allocation among these CoCs is determined through a comprehensive formula that figures in factors such as Point-in-Time count data and system performance. Within the Dane County CoC, the allocation and use of the funds are determined by the CoC Board of Directors through an open and competitive process conducted every other year. In an off-competition year, if the State funding level increases by more than 5% of the total grant amount, new or expansion project applications will be solicited for the increased amount. If the funding level decreases or increases by 5% or less, the difference will be prorated across existing programs based on their current funding amounts.
For the 2026-2027 grant cycle, the State has allocated $625,890 in EHH funds to the Dane County CoC, a $435 increase from the previous year. Because this was an off-competition year locally, program funding amounts were adjusted based on the total funding amount for the Dane County CoC. The results were shared with the Dane County CoC Board of Directors at its July 1, 2026, meeting. Following the Common Council's approval to accept the funds, the City will establish contracts with the identified nonprofit agencies for the services and in the amounts listed below.
2026-2027 EHH funds ($269,139 ESG + $206,751 HPP + $150,000 HAP = $625,890)
(for use during the period from October 1, 2026, through September 30, 2027)
• Briarpatch Youth Services - Up to $35,405 (ESG) for street outreach services targeting youth experiencing homelessness; and up to $60,937 (HPP) for homelessness prevention rent assistance projects for youth.
• Focus Counseling - Up to $75,000 (HAP) for Rapid Rehousing housing payments and services for individuals.
• Legal Action of Wisconsin - Up to $50,056 (HPP) for homelessness prevention legal services.
• MACH OneHealth, dba Madison Street Medicine - Up to $20,384 (ESG) for street outreach and service coordination for people experiencing unsheltered homelessness.
• Porchlight, Inc. - Up to $12,166 (ESG) for case management services for guests at the Men's Drop-In Shelter.
• The Road Home Dane County - Up to $50,000 (HAP) for rental assistance and case management services for the program participants residing at the Breese and Tailor Place Apartments.
• The Salvation Army Dane County - Up to $22,811 (ESG) for case management services at the Family Shelter; up to $15,968 (ESG) for case management services at the Single Women’s Shelter; up to $9,125 (ESG) for medical motel vouchers for persons who, because of medical needs, cannot be accommodated in traditional shelter settings; and up to $129,427 ($104,427 ESG and $25,000 HAP) for Rapid Rehousing housing payments and services for households with children and households without children.
• Tenant Resource Center - Up to $45,702 (HPP) for housing mediation services; and up to $50,056 (HPP) for homelessness prevention rental assistance and housing relocation and stabilization services.
• Urban Triage - Up to $22,530 (ESG) for street outreach services for people experiencing unsheltered homelessness.
• YWCA Madison - Up to $18,249 (ESG) for Family Shelter.
• The City's Community Development Division will administer the above contracts and will retain up to $8,074 (3%) of the ESG funds for administration costs associated with contract management.
ACTION
WHEREAS, on March 11, 2025 (RES-25-00181, Legistar File #87293), the Common Council adopted the City of Madison's 2025-2029 Consolidated Plan, which identifies homelessness as a critical community issue and outlines strategies for addressing it in partnership with community organizations; and,
WHEREAS, the City of Madison has long been committed to local efforts to prevent and end homelessness, is an active member of the Madison/Dane County Continuum of Care (CoC), and serves as the Recipient of the State EHH grant on behalf of the Dane County CoC; and,
WHEREAS, the Dane County CoC Board of Directors, which is charged with determining the content of the CoC's EHH application to the State, conducts an open and competitive process for EHH funds every other year, most recently in 2025, and in off-competition years adjusts existing project awards according to the CoC's funding policy described above; and,
WHEREAS, because the 2026-2027 State allocation increased by less than 5% compared to the 2025-2026 allocation, the awards listed above were prorated across existing projects based on their current funding amounts, and CDD staff reported the resulting amounts to the CoC Board of Directors at its July 1, 2026, meeting.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Common Council authorizes the Mayor and City Clerk to execute a grant agreement with the State of Wisconsin to formally accept the EHH awards described above; and,
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Council authorizes the Mayor and City Clerk to enter into Purchase of Services (POS) contracts with the specific nonprofit agencies and for up to the dollar amounts identified herein to provide the specified services for people experiencing homelessness and those at risk of becoming homeless; and,
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that the Council amends the 2026 Adopted Operating Budget of the Community Development Division as appropriate to reflect the differences between the State EHH grant revenue and commensurate expenditures described in this resolution and those originally adopted in CDD's Operating Budget for these funding sources.