Title
Refer the discussion on Homeless Services, including potentially issuing a new RFP and/or exploring other options for Homeless Services to the General Policy Committee (NB)
This is a request for the City Commission to refer a discussion on homless services to the General Policy Committee.
Explanation
On February 11, 2014, the City entered into a three-year contract with the Alachua County Coalition for the Homeless and Hungry (ACCHH) to provide homeless services at the Empowerment Center. That contract was originally scheduled to expire on September 30, 2016, however, the City Commission extended it for one (1) additional year. The extended contract expires on September 30, 2017. The expiration of that contract gives the City Commission several new options for providing homeless services. Those options include transferring the direct provision of services at Dignity Village from City Staff to a more appropriate service provider. For these reasons, City staff is requesting policy direction from the City Commission regarding the provision of homeless services, beginning in FY18.
Starting with the original contract, the costs for homeless services at GRACE Marketplace have been shared equally between the City and the Alachua County Board of County Commissioners. In the original contract, the budget for homeless services was $308,000 for the first year. That budget has gradually increased every year.
The budget for the current contract between the City of Gainesville and the ACCHH (for FY17) is $874,000 ($437,000 from the City and $437,000 from Alachua County). That budget, however, does not include the cost of bus passes (approximately $15,000 combined, for FY16 and FY17), or the $5,535 for the local match for the $55,350 transportation disadvantaged grant. Additionally, since 2015, the City has provided management and oversight of the Dignity Village Camping Area which was an unintended result of opening the Empowerment Center. The cost of the m...
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