Stevenson, Garrett
Subject:
Attachments:
From: Sonja Berndt < >
FW: 6/1/2022 ED Tech Meeting Agenda Items ##2, 3
6.1. ED Tech ##2, 3 Tiny Homes & Housing Budget.pdf; Request for Information re Housing Dept FY2023 Budget.pdf; 1st housing PRA Response-Motel Vouchers FINAL.pdf
Sent: Monday, May 30, 2022 4:08 PM
To: Stevenson, Garrett <[email protected]>; Hampton, Tyron <[email protected]>; Madison, Steve <[email protected]>; Rivas, Jessica <[email protected]>; Wilson, Andy <[email protected]>
Cc: Hawkesworth, Matthew <[email protected]>; Huang, William <[email protected]> Subject: 6/1/2022 ED Tech Meeting Agenda Items ##2, 3
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Dear Members of the ED Tech Committee:
Please see the Attached letter I am submitting for Agenda Items 2 (tiny homes) and 3 (Housing Dept FY2023 Budget). There are two attachments to the letter: Attachment #1 is a request for information I sent to Director Huang last week about the Housing Dept's FY2023 Budget. Attachment #2 is the Housing Dept's response to my PRA request from July 2021. Please ensure that these are made part of the public record on these agenda items. Thank you for your consideration of this correspondence.
Sonja Berndt
Pasadena
1 Chairperson Tyron Hampton and
SONJA K. BERNDT
Pasadena, CA 91107
May 30, 2022
Members of Pasadena's Economic Development &
Technology Committee
By Email
Re: 6/1/2022 ED Tech Committee Meeting -- Agenda Item #2 Discussion on Tiny Homes as a Strategy to Address Homelessness and #3 Follow-up from May 17, 2022 ED Tech Meeting re:
Housing Department's FY2023 Proposed Budget
Dear Members of the ED Tech Committee:
The purpose of this letter is to request clarity and transparency regarding the discussion of the FY2023 Recommended Housing Department Budget, including the discussion of "Homeless Funding" in the June l, 2022 staff memorandum submitted for agenda item #3 of this meeting ("staff memo"). I raise this issue given this Committee's critical discussion, at its June 1, 2022 meeting, of the subject of the tiny homes interim housing model as a strategy for homelessness in our City. In order to meet the housing needs of our unsheltered residents, there needs to be clarity and transparency regarding what the unmet housing needs of our unsheltered residents are, the extent of funding the Department is appropriating/earmarking for interim housing, and additional funding needed to provide interim housing for our unsheltered residents.
On May 23, 2022, I sent a request for information to the Housing Department seeking clarity on the FY2023 proposed Housing Department budget as related to our unsheltered residents. A copy of that request is attached to this letter for your reference. I respectfully request that this Committee not make any recommendation on the proposed FY2023 Housing Department budget until the questions raised in the request for information and in this letter are answered.
A. "Lumping" Funding for Persons Experiencing Homelessness with Homelessness Prevention, without more, is Unhelpful
The staff memo states that "[t]he [Housing] Department currently has just over $6.8 million budgeted to serve residents who are experiencing and at risk of homelessness in the upcoming fiscal year." Providing services to both those experiencing homelessness and those at risk of homelessness is critical. But while the $6.8 million sounds like a lot of money, that is for the entire Supportive Housing Division, which provides a whole host of services for both unhoused persons and persons who are in housing, but are at risk of losing it.
Simply citing the figure $6.8 million provides no insight into how much will be spent on the various functions of the Supportive Housing Division. What amount of this $6.8 million does 1 the Department intend to "earmark/appropriate" for providing effective interim housing (with onsite case management services) for those neighbors we see on a daily basis, sleeping in the parks, seeking donations on street corners, and pushing their shopping carts full of items they use to survive the harsh life on the street?
Why is this important? Our Housing Department staff has stated "It's very unsafe on the street.
People don't sleep much." (12/8/2021 ED Tech Mtg., timestamp l: 16:00.) Unsheltered persons are extremely vulnerable due to substantial chronic health conditions; undiagnosed and untreated mental illness; substance use disorders; malnutrition, and/or other substantial problems, including threats to their personal safety. (See 2020 Homeless Count Report, pp. 23-25; see also, 2022 Homeless Count Report, p. 15.) Interim housing (temporary housing between living on the street and permanent housing) provides personal safety, security for belongings, toilets, showers, laundry facilities, meals, assistance with medical needs (such as onsite nurses who monitor blood pressure), linkage to benefits (such as health insurance, SSI, etc.), etc.
B. The Department Needs to be Transparent about What Funding is Proposed to be Earmarked/Appropriated for Interim Housing in FY2023, Especially Since Federal Grant Funding is Expected to be Significantly Lower than in FY2022 In the FY2022 adopted budget, $8.25 million was appropriated for the Supportive Housing Division. The FY2022 Revised is $8.05 million. For FY2023, the recommended appropriation for that division is decreased to $6.93 million. Does this mean that the Department will spend less on interim housing?
In response to my July 12, 2021 Public Records Act request, the Department stated that out of its entire FY2022 Adopted Budget of$40,657,914, "[h]ypothetically, $1,194,244 of grant funding within the budget could be used for motel vouchers or other interim housing." The Department stated"[ c ]urrently, $835,344 is earmarked for interim housing, primarily for motel vouchers specifically." (See Attachment 2 to this letter.) That figure is a mere 2% of the Housing Department's FY2022 adopted budget. Moreover, of the total funds "available" for interim housing for FY2022, the Department noted $500,000 as having been received in ESG-CV (CARES Act) funding from the federal government, just under 60% of the total dollars the Department "earmarked" for interim housing. (See Attachment 2.) Why is this important? The proposed FY2023 Housing Department budget notes as follows on page 7: Emergency Shelter Grant (ESG) FY2022 Budget= $2.049 million; FY2022 Revised= $1. 743 million; FY2023 = $423,000. So the ESG funding for FY2023 is only 20.6% of the adopted FY2022 budget and 24.3% of FY2022 Revised. What are the consequences of this significant decrease in funding from the primary funding source for interim housing in FY2022? Slide 7 of the Department's May 17, 2022 FY2023 Budget Power Point Presentation states "Federal ESG funds are significantly reduced due to the ESG CARES funding ramping down." Emergency Shelter Grant funds are noted in Slide 5 to be decreased by over $1.5 million in FY2023 while Continuum of Care funding is increased by barely over $400,000. 2 Slide 10 of the presentation noted that a FY2023 priority related to homelessness is "[s]ustain existing programming created by county Measure H, federal CARES and prior rounds of one- time state funding." First of all, "sustaining existing programming" related to the unsheltered clearly will not meet the housing needs of our unsheltered residents. The current primary method of sheltering these folks is through the motel voucher program, which is inadequate, expensive, inefficient and provides brief stays for a fraction of our unsheltered residents. Aside from this, the Department needs to explain how it can even sustain the existing programming as related to our unsheltered residents if, as stated in Slide 7, the "Federal ESG funds are significantly reduced due to the ESG CARES funding ramping down." C. The Housing Department Needs Significantly More Money to Meet the Interim Housing Needs of our Unsheltered Residents
Our City has nearly 300 residents who have no shelter at all and who struggle daily just to survive. Our City can no longer ask these most vulnerable residents to "hang out" on the "very unsafe" street for another year or more. Our Housing Department states in the FY2023 budget narrative that "[ a ]!though Pasadena continues to receive one-time increases in funding from the State, a reliable source of ongoing funding is needed to support high priority needs such as supportive services for existing and new supportive housing programs and increasing shelter capacity." So the Department is telling you it does not have sufficient funding to meet the need for increased shelter capacity.
At the June 1, 2022 ED Tech meeting, the Committee will discuss the subject of tiny homes as a strategy for homelessness in our City. Community members have been requesting this discussion for well over a year and are grateful for this opportunity. A tiny home village can be funded with some of the $26 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding our City will receive shortly, $20 million of which is not yet appropriated. 1 Additionally, the City Council can find funding to provide basic shelter for our unsheltered neighbors just like it found funding for a helicopter camera surveillance system to replace a functioning system, to replace a functioning mobile command center, and $21.5 million to cover the debt on the Rose Bowl the past two years. Yes, the City is responsible for the Rose Bowl debt. The point is, the City found the money to cover the very substantial annual debt payments.
D. Conclusion
There needs to be more clarity and transparency in the Housing Department's FY2023 proposed budget. It is unclear from the information provided thus far what the unmet housing needs of our unsheltered residents are (quantified), what funds are available to meet those needs and what 1 While the Housing Department is receiving $3 million in ARPA funding, that funding is earmarked for affordable housing projects, not interim housing. Moreover, without that $3 million appropriation from the federal government, the FY 2023 Recommended Housing Department Budget of $39,307,500 would be $4.35 million lower than the FY2022 adopted budget instead of the lesser amount of $1 .35 million. It must also be understood that with last year's ARPA funding, more funding was appropriated for the traffic signal at Orange Grove and Craig than for interim housing for our unsheltered residents. 3 additional funding can, and should, be provided to meet those needs. Please ensure that all information relevant to meeting the unmet housing (with services) needs of our unsheltered residents is provided and considered. Then, please instruct staff to prepare a proposal for a tiny home village in our City.
Thank you for your time and consideration of this letter.
Cc: William Huang, Director
Pasadena's Housing Department
Matthew Hawkesworth, Director
Department of Finance
4 Sincerely,
Isl
Sonja K. Berndt
Pasadena
SONJA K. BERNDT
Pasadena. CA 91107
William K. Huang, Director of Housing
Pasadena, California
By Email to whuang(mcityofpasadena.net
May 24, 2022
Request for Information Related to: (1) the Recommended FY2023 Housing Department Budget and (2) the 6/1/2022 Economic Development & Technology ("ED Tech") Committee Meeting on Tiny Homes
Dear Mr. Huang:
A. Introduction
The purpose of this letter is twofold: First, it seeks critical information related to providing for our unsheltered residents that is not explained in the Housing Department's budget presentation.
It is unclear from the information provided what the extent of the unmet needs of our unsheltered residents are and how the City intends to meet those needs throughout FY2023 .1 Second, the information requested will be important for the ED Tech Committee to consider as its members evaluate the need for more interim housing through more effective housing models such as tiny homes. 2 The information requested is consistent with Mayor Gordo's desire, in considering departmental budgets this year, to allow assigned Committees to take a longer-term approach and "deep dives" into more detail regarding departmental programs, services and budgets.
B. Request for Information
1. FY2023 Operating Budget Document
The Housing Department's recommended FY2023 total operating budget is $39.3 million. Of that total amount, what is the current total funding anticipated to be allocated/used for interim housing for our unsheltered residents? Please identify the amounts by program and source of funding.
1 "Unsheltered residents" refers to persons located in Pasadena whose primary nighttime location is a public or private place not designated for, or ordinarily used as, a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings (i.e., the streets, abandoned buildings, vehicles, or parks). 2 "Interim housing" refers to temporary housing between life on the street and permanent housing and includes the following: a congregate shelter that provides for lodging overnight inside a structure; or a "tiny shelter," aka "tiny home; or an entire motel, hotel or similar structure re-purposed for housing persons experiencing homelessness; or motel vouchers issued for use at motels/hotels in "scattered sites;" or a single-family or multi-family residence; or group home. 1 The total General Fund appropriations sought for the Housing Department is $1.6 million. Of that amount, what is the total amount anticipated to be allocated/used for interim housing for our unsheltered residents?
2. Housing Department's 5/17/2022 PowerPoint Presentation on Recommended FY2023 Operating Budget
Slide 2: As you know, according to the 2022 Point-in-Time Homeless Count, Pasadena has a total of 512 unhoused persons, with 280 of those persons being without any shelter at all. 3 Slide 2 has a list of housing projects. For the projects Salvation Army Hope Center, Concord Senior Apartments and Heritage Square South, please provide the following information for each:
• Anticipated (approximate) date for residents to move into the project. • The number of units set aside for unhoused persons located in Pasadena. Will unhoused persons located in jurisdictions outside of Pasadena be eligible to occupy the units? Slide 2: For the "244 inclusionary units permitted, under construction or completed," what is the anticipated (approximate) date for residents to move into each of these units? How many of these units will be available solely to unhoused residents located in Pasadena? Will unhoused persons located in jurisdictions outside of Pasadena be eligible to occupy the units? Slide 3: This slide mentions that 37 households were permanently housed through "City-funded program" as of March 31, 2022. Were those households sheltered or unsheltered immediately prior to when they became permanently housed? Please identify the specific source of "City funding" used to permanently house these persons.
Slide 3: "270 formerly homeless households provided supportive housing." Are any of these households included in the 512 total unhoused persons per the 2022 Homeless Count? In other words, do we still have approximately 512 unhoused persons despite these 270 households that were provided supportive housing?
Slide 3: Please explain the reference to "[e]xpanded HOPE Team Services Liaison program." Specifically what expenses of the HOPE Team are funded by the Housing Department and what are the specific duties of personnel funded by the Housing Department? Slide 5: "Other Housing Funds:" Housing Department staff mentioned that this line item includes the $3 million the Department is receiving in one-time federal American Rescue Plan Act ("ARPA") funding. Of this amount, how much is anticipated to be used for interim housing? Slide 7: "Federal ESG funds are significantly reduced due to the ESG CARES funding ramping down." For FY2022 thus far, what is the total amount of Federal ESG funds the Department has 3 Given that it was raining on the night of the Count and persons who received shelter only for that night were classified as "sheltered," community members believe our unsheltered count is an undercount. 2 expended to provide interim housing for our unsheltered persons, included services for that housing?
Slide 7: "Federal CoC funds have increased due to the award of additional grant funding for rapid rehousing." Are any of those funds anticipated to be used for interim housing for our unsheltered residents and, if yes, how much?
Slide 7: "Additional one-time state funding will likely be utilized to sustain existing programming created by earlier rounds of one-time state funds." As of the date you respond to this letter, what is the total amount of this state funding guaranteed to be received by Pasadena? Of this amount, how much is anticipated to be allocated for interim housing for our unsheltered residents?
Slide 9: "Complete homeless PCC student interim housing." This project was appropriated $400,000 in FY2022 ARPA funding. Please identify what other funding is being used for this housing project. What type of interim housing is being provided (type of housing model) and for how many residents? Also, what will be the source of funding for ongoing operations for this interim housing project?
Slide 10: This slide states that a FY2023 priority related to homelessness is "[ s ]ustain existing programming created by county Measure H, federal CARES and prior rounds of one-time state funding."
• Please identify the "existing programming created by county Measure H." Is any Measure H funding anticipated to be used to provide interim housing for our unsheltered residents and, if so, how much?
• As for sustaining existing programming created by federal CARES, how will this be possible if, as stated in Slide 7, the "Federal ESG funds are significantly reduced due to the ESG CARES funding ramping down?" Significantly, Emergency Shelter Grant funds are noted in slide 5 to be decreased by over $1.5 million in FY2023 while increased Continuum of Care funding is increased by barely over $400,000.
The Housing Department states, in the narrative portion of its recommended FY2023 budget, that its core values include "decent, safe, affordable housing as an equal right for all Pasadena residents." This includes our unsheltered residents. Given the significant decrease in federal funding anticipated, and the continued severe underfunding of the Housing Department, the recommended budget does not appear to meet the needs of our nearly 300 residents who have no shelter at all. During the budget discussion on May 17, 2022, Councilmember Rivas asked you how the Department might spend additional General Fund appropriations if provided. Increased General Fund appropriations as well as significantly more ARPA funding could provide much more interim housing for our unsheltered residents.
In an article addressing underfunding in Pasadena's Public Health Department, it is reported that Councilmember Tyron Hampton "was supportive of the city using general fund dollars in the health department, but he criticized its officials for not flagging the issue earlier. 'If they knew this had the potential to happen, then they're the professionals who should've said we're underfunded,' Hampton said." (Whittier Daily News, 3/26/21, "Pasadena Officials Want More Funding for the 3 Health Department, but not from the City.") The ED Tech Committee as well as the City Council need the Housing Department to flag the critical and urgent issue of severe underfunding of interim housing for our unsheltered residents. Additional General Fund appropriations as well as significantly more ARPA funding could help meet the needs of these most vulnerable community members and could fund a tiny home community in our City.
Thank you for your time and consideration of this correspondence.
Cc: Chairperson Tyron Hampton and
Members of Pasadena's ED Tech Committee
Cynthia Kurtz, Interim City Manager
4 Sincerely,
/s/
Sonja K. Berndt
Pasadena
Department of Housing - 649 N. Fair Oaks Avenue, Suite 202, Pasadena, CA 91103
RESPONSE TO PUBLIC RECORDS ACT (PRA) REQUEST
PRA case number: #16336
Submittal date: 7/12/21
Submitted by: Sonja Berndt
1. QUESTION: The number of unsheltered in Pasadena as of the January 2020 homeless count was 295. Since we did not conduct a homeless count in 2021, what is the Department's current best estimate of the number of unsheltered persons in our City, recognizing that some unsheltered persons have received shelter this past year and other persons have become unsheltered this year? RESPONSE: The Housing Department does not maintain an ongoing estimate of the number of unsheltered persons in our City at any given time. The most recent tally we have of the unsheltered homeless population is from the 2020 Homeless Count. We will be conducting an unsheltered homeless count again in late January 2021.
2. QUESTION: Approximately how much of the Housing Department's entire FY 2022 operating budget is available for motel-voucher interim housing (or other types of interim housing) for our unsheltered residents, recognizing some funds in the Department are restricted for certain purposes? Please identify the source of those funds (e.g., government or other grant) as well as the particular fund (e.g., Community Development Block Grant). (See, e.g., Slide 6 from your budget PowerPoint presentation on June 21st which has a list of "Expenses by Fund.") RESPONSE: The Department's FY 2022 Adopted Budget is $40,657,914.
Hypothetically, $1,194,244 of grant funding within the budget could be used for motel vouchers or other interim housing. Currently $835,344 is earmarked for interim housing, primarily for motel vouchers specifically. City staff take many factors into consideration when determining what type of homeless services to fund including grant terms such as expenditure deadlines and set eligible activities, current system and provider capacity, and the current landscape of existing homeless services funded by both the City and other entities such as County departments. The Department and the Pasadena Continuum of Care continue to prioritize the creation and expansion of new and existing permanent housing resources in addition to providing interim housing. Ultimately permanent housing ends a person's homelessness, unlike interim housing. Additionally, 1 a balanced system of services, which includes both interim housing and permanent housing resources, is necessary to move people out of homelessness quickly.
3. QUESTION: Of the total amount in Question 2, how much does the Housing Department currently intend to use for motel-voucher interim housing (or other interim housing) for unsheltered persons as opposed to other Housing Department initiatives such as rental assistance, affordable housing, etc.? RESPONSE: The Department's FY 2022 Adopted Budget of $40,657,914 includes $835,344 for motel vouchers and other interim housing. The very iarge majority of these funds are for motel vouchers, and a smaller portion (under $100,000) is for the Bad Weather Shelter. It is important to note that the adopted budget is revised several times throughout the fiscal year. The budget that is initially approved by City Council is staff's best estimate for the upcoming fiscal year. Particularly for the Supportive Housing Division, which oversees homeless services grant funding, these numbers are subject to change significantly because the City has not usually received its grant allocations for the upcoming fiscal year at the time budget is initially drafted. Staff utilizes figures from the current fiscal year to estimate the budget for the upcoming fiscal year, but these figures often need to be revised considerably.
Adopted FY 2022 Housing Department Budget Available for Interim Housing
FUND GRANT SOURCE INTERIM
HOUSING
224 Emergency Solutions Grant U.S Dept. of $70,559
(ESG)- annual allocation Housing and Urban
Development
(HUD)
224 ESG-CV (CARES Act) U.S Dept. of $500,000
Housing and Urban
Development
(HUD)
238 Measure H LA County tax $101,313
revenue
238 Homeless Housing, Assistance, State of California $209,031 and Prevention Business,
Consumer Services
and Housing
Agency (BCSH)
4. QUESTION: Significantly, it was just announced publicly that California will provide funding for income-qualified persons to cover rent that accrued, but was not paid, due to COVID-19-related reasons. Does this mean that more of the Housing Department's budget can now be used to shelter our unsheltered population through interim housing? If not, why not?
2 RESPONSE: Yes, this is correct. The Department currently has $500k of ESG-CV funds set aside for homelessness prevention activities. In response to the availability of federal funding for emergency rental assistance administered to Pasadena residents by the State of California, the Department intends to reprogram this funding for motel vouchers. A portion of this funding will transferred to the Public Health Department to be utilized for motel vouchers by the PORT team in addition to the GEM and TAY Link programs. The remainder will be reprogrammed to augment existing motel voucher contracts with local non-profit service providers.
5. QUESTION: What is the daily rate, per person, the Housing Department uses to determine funding needs for the motel-voucher interim housing program? RESPONSE: The Department utilized $100 per room per night as the rate to calculate the budget for the Scattered Site Emergency Motel Program, which has provided shelter for vulnerable individuals throughout the last year of the pandemic. This figure was roughly the average of nightly rates found in invoices submitted to the City by multiple non-profit agencies for other contracted motel voucher programs. However most motel voucher programs are selected through an RFP or similar process, in which proposers submit their own budget. Some agencies have established relationships with local motels that have allowed them to secure lower nightly rates than other agencies.
6. QUESTION: You mentioned in your budget presentation to the City Council that Pasadena is expected to receive $3 million in HOME funds from the American Rescue Plan Act. Is this $3 million part of the $26 million the City of Pasadena recently received in ARPA funding or is it in addition to the $26 million the City received?
RESPONSE-6: The $3 million of HOME funds authorized by the American Rescue Plan Act (HOME-ARP) is distinct from the $26 million that the City will receive from American Rescue Plan Act which was allocated to various uses at the August 16 City Council meeting.
7. QUESTION: You mentioned in your budget presentation that the $3 million in HOME funds referenced above are to address homelessness in general. Does the Housing Department intend that any of these specific funds will be used for interim housing such as motel vouchers and, if so, approximately how much? RESPONSE-?: The Department has not yet determined how the HOME-ARP funds will be utilized. We are awaiting final guidelines from HUD regarding the specifics of these HOME funds, which were authorized by the American Rescue Plan and will have different eligible uses and restrictions.
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