Yamhill Poised to Vote "Leave"

Janet Carlson, Jimmy Jones and Sean O'Day at the 4/23/19 Yamhill County BoC Work Session

By Sarah Owens and Michael Livingston

"It's really the ROCC, isn't it?", asked Yamhill County Commissioner Casey Kulla, in response to Janet Carlson's "Continuum of Care" presentation on behalf of the Mid Willamette Homeless Initiative (MWHI) steering committee, which is housed in the Mid Willamette Valley Council of Governments (MWVCOG).  He was ready to vote "Leave."  Commissioner Rick Olson was also heard to say, "just do it", but Commissioner Mary Starrett (not pictured because she arrived late to the work session) said she wanted to have further discussion. 

The presentation last Tuesday to Yamhill County on ROCC: Leave or Remain? came on the heels of Monday night's presentation to the Salem City Council.  See "CoC Issue at City Council."    

Commissioner Starrett also sits on the board of Yamhill County Community Action Partnerships (YCAP), which holds three 2018 CoC grants totaling about $182K and is the Yamhill County-based provider participating in ROCC.  Starrett's first question was, "What happens to existing contracts with HUD?"  She also wanted to know, "Will we be dinged for all the people who are homeless by choice?", to which Jimmy Jones replied, "No, not at all."

HUD does not recognize a category of people who are "homeless by choice."  For more about this concept, see "10 Myths about Homelessness" and Gionfriddo, P. "Homeless by Choice The choices we made are what put my son with schizophrenia on the streets."  (12 March 2015, Psychology Today.)  

Starrett also asked about gap funding.  Carlson replied that the steering committee had "two staff funded through the application process" but would need "$212,000 in 12 months."  The minutes of the March 2019 steering committee meeting record a vote to retain Carlson and Jan Calvin for up to 30 and 20 hours/wk at $85/hr through March 2020, based on available funds, currently totaling $80K.  Carlson said the steering committee would need to have a resolution of support by "late May, early June."

McMinnville's Mayor Hill, Manager Jeff Towery, and Council President Kellie Menke also attended the work session and heard Carlson's presentation.  We spoke to Mayor Hill and Councilor Menke afterward.  Their enthusiasm for leaving was palpable and unqualified.  They said they'd already had several meetings about it.  A resolution of support is scheduled to go before the Mac Council on May 14.
   
In addition to Yamhill County and McMinnville last week, Carlson et al also pitched to Keizer, Monmouth, Independence and the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde.  All were receptive and are expected to pass resolutions of support.

Contributing to the gap funding for staff might be an issue for some.  MWVCOG members are asked to contribute annual dues based on population (less the population of major cities) and resources available.  Marion County and Salem are the largest contributors, each paying $32,455 for FY 2018-19, while Polk County paid only $6,592.  Marion County and Salem also contributed $45,000 each to the homeless coordinator position, while Keizer, Monmouth and Independence each contributed $5,000.  McMinnville's dues for FY 2018-19 were $15,366, while Yamhill County's were $12,006.  Carlson told the steering committee at its regular monthly meeting on Thursday that she will be developing possible formulas for calculating new steering committee member contributions, which would need to total $107,000 in order to fill the gap in the gap funding for staff. 

5/21/19 Update:  after a second work session, the Board of Commissioners decided against leaving ROCC to form a regional CoC with Marion and Polk counties.  See "Yamhill County to Remain in ROCC."