Budget makes progress on homelessness, opioid crisis

The Pierce County Council’s Committee of the Whole passed an amended version of the County Executive’s proposed summer supplemental to the 2024-2025 Biennial Budget out of Committee with a do-pass recommendation on Wednesday, Aug. 21. Proposed Ordinance No. O2024-543s then headed to the full council for a public hearing and final action on Aug. 27. 

On Monday, Aug. 12, the Pierce County Council introduced the Executive’s proposed supplemental budget that included 10 items to revise American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding in response to the Dec. 31, 2024, deadline to obligate all ARPA funding. The version the Committee of the Whole passed contained 16 items that addressed ARPA funding but also included investments aimed at addressing pressing community issues such as homelessness, affordable housing, and the opioid crisis. 

The Council’s proposed supplemental budget includes the following key appropriations:

Affordable Housing: An additional $1.865 million will be allocated to support the construction of 500 new permanently affordable housing units through the Tacoma Housing Authority’s Aviva Crossing project, addressing major cost overruns. This funding was included in the Executive’s proposal; the only change made by the Council is the source of funding (utilizing Maureen Howard Affordable Housing Act Sales Tax rather than ARPA interest earnings).

Homelessness Solutions: The $2.5 million in ARPA funds for stability sites is reallocated. Instead, $2.5 million of ARPA interest earnings is used to develop one or more temporary micro-communities outside the City of Tacoma. These communities will provide stable, temporary housing options for those living in unsanctioned and unsheltered encampments. Priority is given to communities that provide services such as substance use disorder treatment and employment programs to help residents achieve and maintain permanent housing.

Homelessness Intervention Services: A $3.2 million increase in funding for homelessness intervention services, including outreach, case management, and emergency shelter, to enhance support for vulnerable populations and move people off the street. The Executive allocated only $635,000 for this purpose, but the need is much higher. For example, less than half of the funding requested for shelter services ($6.5 million was funded; $19.6 million was requested) was awarded in the most recent procurement for the Homeless Housing Program.

Opioid Crisis Response: $2 million is allocated to establish new mobile medically assisted treatment services for individuals suffering from opioid use disorder. The Council has been waiting since March for the Executive’s opioid spending plan. Between January 2021 and June 2023, more than 800 Pierce County residents lost their lives to drug overdoses, including those involving stimulants, and those are the ones we’re aware of. The crisis is most rapidly growing among young adults aged 18-24, both in Washington State and Pierce County. Fentanyl-related overdose deaths are a crisis in our community, and we can no longer wait.

Economic Development: The Executive's proposal to increase funding for the Community Navigator Program, emphasizing support for Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) organizations in helping businesses through start-up and growth phases, is included. 

Youth Violence Prevention: The Council allocated $126,100 of Prevention Services funds for six youth violence prevention programs for the calendar year 2025. It is a Council priority to create alternatives to getting in trouble for young people, and instead creating safe places with caring adults so young people can thrive. 

Rental and Utility Assistance: The Council directed that any ARPA funding that is in danger of not being obligated by the Dec. 31, 2024, deadline be used to help individuals at risk of being evicted. Keeping people in their current housing is a proven strategy to prevent homelessness.

Four Other Budget Adjustments: Because of contract delays, $472,000 of park impact fees is reappropriated to the Peninsula Metropolitan Park District. The deadline for the performance audit of the Human Services Department's contracting and procurement practices is extended from Sept. 30, 2024, to Feb. 1, 2025, to provide time for a more thorough and complete review. Lastly, two spending-neutral adjustments are made to some community-need projects.  

The summer supplemental budget moved out of the Committee of the Whole with a narrow 4-3 vote. Councilmember Dave Morell (District 1), who voted no on the Council’s summer supplemental budget, said, “There is no point in keeping a $2.5 million budget appropriation in the budget for something that isn’t going to happen. The majority tried to advance a proposal, but the Executive said he was going to veto it, and now they are appropriating funding to that purpose anyway just because they don’t like the outcome. We should pass the Executive’s proposal with no unnecessary changes.” 

However, Council Chair Ryan Mello (District 4) maintains that this supplemental concerns more than just one spending item. 

“The Council’s amended proposal adopts or expands on many of the items requested by the Executive. Our community needs these investments in affordable housing, homelessness interventions, and opioid crisis management,” he said. 

Mello added, “The $2.5 million appropriation for temporary micro-communities is available for cities and towns outside of Tacoma, not just unincorporated Pierce County areas. This is a biennial budget; we have the next 16 months to determine how to build well-managed tiny home villages. The appropriation should remain in place to address one of the most pressing challenges in our community – homelessness.”

Currently, more than $4 million is available for homeless housing assistance in Pierce County.

Pierce County Human Services, as the Collaborative Applicant for the Tacoma/Lakewood/Pierce County Continuum of Care (CoC), is requesting proposals from eligible, qualified, and interested organizations to provide homeless housing assistance to residents in Pierce County. These include new project applications, applications to expand existing projects, or applications to consolidate existing CoC projects into a single project.

Proposals must be received by 2 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 6. Interested parties must register with Open Gov at procurement.opengov.com/signup. Learn more about this funding opportunity as tinyurl.com/4r6mf68h.