News from the Continuum

Revised: January 2019

By Sarah Owens and Michael Livingston

Season Opens on Federal Program $$

Contrary to fears of cuts to federal funding, Salem's Urban Development, Community Services and Housing Commission (CSHC) will have additional funds to award this winter, according to Federal Programs Manager, Shelly Ehenger.  Ehenger says this increase is due partly to Catholic Community Services Community Housing Development Corporation's (Salem's only CHDO) declining the $160,000 award for the multi-family reconstruction project, St. Monica, as well as $30,000 in CHDO operating costs (see here at page 16).  It's also the result of some recent financial housekeeping within Federal Programs, she said.  Ehenger estimates there will be about $1.5M in CDBG funds for the 2018-2019 cycle (about $300K more than last year) and $1M in HOME funds.  If 15% of the CDBG funds is set aside for social services, there will be $225,000 available for social services (about $25,000 more than last year).  See here for details. 

The feasibility of reforming the local CoC (consisting of Salem/Marion & Polk Counties), which inquiry readers may recall we attempted to urge upon elected officials about six months ago, remains an open question, even though Salem's Mayor, four City Councilors (Andersen, McCoid, Cook and Hoy) and Andy Wilch, Salem Housing Authority Administrator, have all demonstrated they support independence, and none of the County electeds have indicated any opposition.

Preliminary Recommendations - 7/25/17 PP Presentation

The Affordable Housing, Social Services and Homelessness Strategic Planning Work Group looked at the local CoC issue and enthusiastically recommended re-formation as one of several "approaches."

Unfortunately, however, through the staff summary process, re-forming the CoC and several other "approaches" ended up lumped together as a recommendation to "Maximize resources for, and coordination of, social services" (see staff summary here).

Page 10 of Salems's Strategic Plan

The "maximize resources" recommendation did make it into the strategic plan (combined with "align Salem's existing social services funding with strategic initiatives") (see right).

BUT, unless you happen to know how that recommendation was developed, you're probably going to wonder, "What exactly does it mean in this context to 'maximize resources'?"

Probably, you're not going to think it means registering Salem, Marion and Polk Counties with HUD as an independent CoC (although a document entitled "Steps to Forming a Local Continuum of Care" is posted to the City's Strategic Planning web page, so maybe you would).

We are told that what's  next is more or less up to the City Manager, Steve Powers, who rightly views the situation as calling for a "regional approach", i.e., one that involves elected officials from both Marion and Polk Counties.

Powers, along with the Mid Willamette Valley Council of Governments (COG)'s Executive Director, Sean O'Day, Marion County Commissioner Carlson and the mayors of Keizer, Monmouth and Independence, worked up a proposal whereby COG would hire and house a Homeless Program Coordinator to work on the local CoC question, along with a whole bunch of other stuff.  (See here under "COG Board", then, "cog-board-agenda-packet-17oct2017.pdf").  

Exhibit C of the IGA

The COG accepted the proposal (revenue-neutral to COG) and authorized Mr. O'Day to execute an intergovernmental agreement with the participating bodies.  It's now up to them to follow through.

Even if they do all follow through in a timely fashion and a qualified person is hired per plan by January 2018, the CoC issue seems likely to be buried in the extensive "scope of work" described in Exhibit C of the agreement (at left).

A costly way to mire a simple strategy in bureaucratic mud.

So, that's where things stand with respect to reforming the Salem/Marion and Polk County CoC.  Re-forming the CoC is favored by Salem, the entity with the most at stake, but matters have become unduly complicated.  Running a local CoC would be far easier than what's being done to avoid it.  As one city official put it, "If we [mess] this up, it'll be the easiest thing we ever [messed] up."