Fiscal Note
The proposed Resolution amends the 2022 Adopted Operating Budget for the Community Development Division (CDD) to reflect the actual grant award amounts for the Continuum of Care grant program. The EHH grant award combines funds from the State of Wisconsin Housing Assistance Program (HAP), Homeless Prevention Program (HPP), and Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG). The 2022 Adopted Budget anticipated a grant of $650,093. Under the proposed amendment, CDD's 2022 Adopted Budget will reflect the following increases:
• Revenue: + $247,319
• Purchased Services: + $247,319
This Resolution also authorizes the Mayor and City Clerk to execute agreements with the nonprofit agencies, specified below and in the attachment, to provide services using these EHH funds.
Title
Authorizing the City of Madison, on behalf of the Dane County Continuum of Care (CoC), to accept an aggregate EHH grant award of up to $897,412 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 2022 Adopted Operating Budget to reflect receipt of the funds.
Body
BACKGROUND
The City of Madison works closely with Dane County 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 of the State of Wisconsin EHH grant (EHH) on behalf of the Dane County CoC. EHH funds combine the HUD Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG), State of Wisconsin Homeless Prevention Program (HPP) and Housing Assistance Program (HAP), and support the following eligible activities: emergency shelter, street outreach, homeless prevention, rapid re-housing and other housing programs, the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS), and administration. The State Department of Administration's Division of Energy, Housing and Community Resources ("the State") annually distributes available funds among four Wisconsin Continua of Care (CoC) serving Dane, Milwaukee, Racine, and the Balance of State. Funding allocations among the CoCs are determined based on a formula that considers various factors including Point in Time survey counts and system performance. The Dane County CoC Board of Directors, using an open-competitive process, determines the specific agencies and uses for which State EHH funds are used.
The State initially awarded the Dane County CoC $896,522 in EHH funds in the 2022-2023 grant cycle. The Dane County CoC held a competitive RFP process to award the funds. Subsequently, the State added $890 of ESG funds to the Dane CoC allocation ($864 for direct services and $26 for administration) in the contract issued to the City on August 10, 2022, bringing the total 2022-2023 EHH grant amount to $897,412. This Resolution reflects the increased final funding amount.
Dane County CoC Board of Directors will determine how the additional $864 for direct services will be allocated at its September 16, 2022 meeting. The Community Development Division (CDD) will propose that these funds be added to the allocation for YWCA’s Family Shelter, which was the highest scoring project that did not receive its full ESG funding request in the competitive RFP process. This proposed final figure for YWCA is reflected in the allocations described below.
As only $650,093 in EHH funds for the 2022-2023 grant cycle had been anticipated during 2022 budget development, one of the purposes of this Resolution is to amend CDD's adopted 2022 Operating Budget to recognize the additional revenue and commensurate expenditures.
Following the notice of award, the City will enter into contracts with the nonprofit agencies identified below to provide the activities indicated.
2022-2023 EHH funds ($399,260 ESG + $348,152 HPP + $150,000 HAP = $897,412)
(for use during the period from July 1, 2022 through September 30, 2023)
• Briarpatch Youth Services - Up to $20,000 (ESG) for street outreach services targeting youth experiencing homelessness; and up to $75,663 (HPP) for homelessness prevention rent assistance projects for youth.
• Catalyst for Change - Up to $10,933 (ESG) for street outreach services for people experiencing unsheltered homelessness.
• Focus Counseling - Up to $130,000 (HAP) for Rapid Rehousing housing payments and services for individuals who were enrolled in the City’s Unsheltered Response Hotel program.
• Legal Action of Wisconsin - Up to $47,000 (HPP) for homelessness prevention legal services.
• Madison Area Care for the Homeless - OneHealth - Up to $10,000 (ESG) for street outreach and service coordination for people experiencing unsheltered homelessness in need of medical services.
• Porchlight - Up to $10,000 (ESG) for case management services for guests at the Men's Drop-In Shelter.
• The Road Home Dane County, Inc. - Up to $20,000 (HAP) for supportive services at The Breese Apartments permanent housing program.
• The Salvation Army Dane County - Up to $30,000 (ESG) for case management services at the Family Shelter; up to $30,000 (ESG) for case management services at the Single Women’s Shelter; up to $110,975 ($75,486 ESG plus $35,489 HPP) for Rapid Rehousing housing payments and services for households with children; up to $80,000 (ESG) for Rapid Rehousing housing payments and services for households without children; and up to $10,000 (ESG) for medical motel vouchers for persons who, because of medical needs, cannot be accommodated at traditional shelters.
• Tenant Resource Center - Up to $40,000 (HPP) for housing mediation services; and up to $150,000 (HPP) for homelessness prevention rental assistance and housing relocation and stabilization services.
• Urban Triage - Up to $70,000 (ESG) for street outreach services for people experiencing unsheltered homelessness.
• YWCA Madison - Up to $40,864 (ESG) for Family Shelter.
• The City's Community Development Division will administer the above contracts and will retain up to $11,977 of the ESG funds for administration costs associated with contract management.
ACTION
WHEREAS, the Common Council has adopted the 2020-2024 City of Madison Consolidated Plan, which identifies homelessness as a critical issue within the community and outlines a set of strategies and priorities to address those problems using community-based groups; and,
WHEREAS, City Community Development Division staff has worked collaboratively with the Dane County CoC to assess community needs and develop a list of projects for submission to the State for EHH funds on behalf of the CoC; and,
WHEREAS, the Dane County CoC Board of Directors, which is charged with determining the content of the CoC's EHH application, previously allocated all but $890 of available EHH funds at its February 18, 2022 meeting as described herein and, based on its deliberations at that meeting, is expected to distribute the remaining $890 to the City ($26 for administration) and the YWCA ($864 for Family Shelter) when it meets on September 16.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Common Council hereby authorizes the Mayor and City Clerk to execute agreements with the State and accept the EHH awards described above; and,
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Common Council authorizes the Mayor and City Clerk to enter into contracts with the specific nonprofit agencies listed herein to provide the specified services for people experiencing homelessness and those at risk of becoming homeless; and,
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that the Common Council hereby amends the 2022 Operating Budget of the Community Development Division to recognize the difference in specified grant revenue and commensurate expenditures from what was originally adopted for these funding sources.