Item:
Title
Authorize the County Manager to Execute an Amendment to the Durham County and City of Durham Interlocal Agreement Regarding Homeless Services and the Homeless Services Advisory Committee
Body
Date of BOCC Meeting: June 23, 2025
Request for Board Action:
Agenda Text
The Board is requested to approve the amendment to the interlocal agreement between the Durham County and the City of Durham regarding Homeless Services and the Homeless Services Advisory Committee (HSAC) and authorize the County Manager to execute the amendment to this interlocal agreement.
In 2012, the Durham County and the City of Durham entered into an interlocal agreement to establish a joint City and County Durham Continue of Care and a Homeless Services Advisory Committee to support coordination, planning, performance management and accounting for federally funded homeless services and initiatives. The ILA named the City of Durham’s Community Development Department as the Lead Agency that would support HSAC. The amended ILA language will bring the new organization of homeless services in the City of Durham into alignment with the ILA. To align with current City contracting practice, the amendment also proposes deleting several sections regarding third-party beneficiaries and divisibility of the parties’ obligations.
On April 17, 2025, The City of Durham’s City Manager Bo Ferguson announced his plan to reorganize some aspects of city government to best align the city’s efforts and resources to address Durham’s opportunities and challenges. He received input and guidance from City Council, staff, community groups and residents about what was working and how the city could work better. One issue raised by many partners and community leaders involved is the rise of unsheltered persons in Durham. In hopes to best position the city to address this issue, the City Manager has decided that the City staff that serve as the Lead Agency for the CoC and provide leadership over Durham’s Homeless System will transition from the Community Development Department to the Community Safety Department on July 1, 2025. With the new mandate, the Community Safety Department is establishing and growing a division focused on stabilizing neighbors in crisis and helping them reach successful outcomes, and the Homeless Services team will be a key component of this new division.
Given this new organization, executing the proposed amendment will ensure that the interlocal agreement aligns with the City of Durham’s new organization of homeless services. Additionally, the amendment will align with the City of Durham’s contracting practices by deleting several sections regarding third-party beneficiaries and divisibility of the parties’ obligations.
Alignment with Strategic Plan: This item aligns with Strategic Plan Focus Area: Regional Leadership, Objective RL 4a: Develop Strategies to partner with stakeholders and identify funding and resources to reduce housing insecurity, and Focus Area: Empowered Community, Objective EC 1a: Strengthen Partnerships with diverse internal and external agencies and services providers.
Resource Persons: Shannon Trapp, Chief of Staff; Samantha Smith, Special Projects Coordinator
County Manager’s Recommendation: The County Manager recommends that the Board approve the amendment and authorize the County Manager to execute the approved amendment to the interlocal agreement with the City of Durham regarding Homeless Services and the Homeless Services Advisory Committee.
Signature
County Manager: ____________________________