County Council adopts summer supplemental budget

The Pierce County Council adopted its summer supplemental to the 2024-2025 Biennial Budget on Tuesday, Sept. 10 on a 4 to 3 vote. This is the second time the summer supplemental has been adopted by the Council after it was approved for reconsideration by the majority of the legislative body on Tuesday, Sept. 3, and continued to the Sept. 10 Council meeting.

The summer supplemental budget remains largely the same, with three exceptions:

Requires the Finance Department, in consultation with the County Prosecuting Attorney, to train Human Services staff contracting laws, policies and practices within 60 days of the effective date of the ordinance.

Requires the Human Services Department, like all other county departments, to notify the Council of any contract revisions that total $250,000 or more.

Provides $150,000 to implement the recommendations of the Performance Audit Committee’s review of the Human Services Department procurement and contracting process. This performance audit was authorized in the original Biennial Budget and recommendations are due Dec. 31, 2024.

According to Council Vice Chair Marty Campbell (District 5), the changes to the original summer supplemental budget were made because of ongoing contracting mishaps in the Human Services Department that resulted in Pierce County Executive Bruce Dammeier declaring a State of Emergency on Sept. 3 to prevent the collapse of the County’s Coordinated Entry (CE) system.

“Contracting and procurement of services in the Human Services Department has been an ongoing area of concern. This is just the latest and most visible example,” said Campbell. 

The CE system is often referred to as the “front door” of the County’s Homeless Crisis Response System because of its role in connecting individuals with emergency shelters, safe parking sites, day shelters, rapid rehousing, and permanent supportive housing.  Contracts with CE service providers expired Aug. 31, 2024. The service contracts could not be extended under existing County Code and procurement rules.

Executive Dammeier does have the option to veto the summer supplemental budget, which would require a two-thirds Council majority – or five councilmembers – to overturn. 

A majority of the Council and the Executive have been in a public debate over a $2.5 million appropriation in the summer supplemental budget for non-congregate temporary micro shelter communities – such as tiny homes – for individuals and families experiencing homelessness. On Aug. 27, the Council adopted amendments to prohibit the funding from being used for individual tents for sleeping shelters, limit community occupancy to 60, limit the number of non-congregate shelters to be funded to no more than three, and require residents to adhere to a code of conduct that prohibits on-site use of alcohol and illicit drugs – all in response to concerns raised by the County Executive. 

“We included this investment because non-congregate shelter, like tiny homes, is an identified strategy in the County’s Comprehensive Plan to End Homelessness and a proven transitional housing intervention to be that bridge between someone living unsheltered and getting ready to transition to permanent supportive housing,” said Council Chair Ryan Mello (District 4). “We need temporary shelter, affordable housing, and permanent supportive housing. It is not an either/or decision we can afford to make, because history shows that people will die if we wait the two or more years for affordable and permanent supportive housing options to come online.”

Not all Councilmembers agreed with the summer supplemental budget, with three of the seven councilmembers voting in opposition to it. They cited the need to use limited and temporary funds for housing options that would remain in the community for years to come, such affordable housing and permanent supportive housing.