Item:
Title
Budget Ordinance Amendment No. 20BCC000056 Appropriating $100,000 in General Fund Fund Balance in Support of a Contract Amendment of up to a $100,000 Increase for Urban Ministries of Durham Related to Additional Covid-19 Operational Support
Body
Date of BOCC Meeting: May 11, 2020
Request for Board Action:
Agenda Text
The Board is requested to approve Budget Ordinance Amendment No. 20BCC000056 increasing the Emergency Services departmental budget by $100,000 with General Fund fund balance to support unplanned Urban Ministries of Durham expenditures associated with COVID-19. The Board is also requested to approve the attached contract amendment with Urban Ministries of Durham and authorize the County Manager to execute it.
Durham County has always been a strong support of Urban Ministries of Durham. Annual operating support has increased over time, and the County has also supported numerous capital upgrades at the shelter, including a sprinkler system, front lobby enhancements, and café upgrades.
The COVID19 pandemic has required Durham’s homeless continuum of care to increase and enhance services on many fronts. On April 9th, Commissioners approved significant funding to enable Urban Ministries of Durham (UMD) to essentially move all shelter operations to a local hotel to enable appropriate social distancing of shelter residents. Recreating shelter operations at the hotel and providing sufficient security has required additional resources, and County staff are carrying forward a request from UMD to help cover those costs over the next several months.
The largest category of new cost is security. Some savings have been realized through a reduced security presence at the downtown site, though some is still necessary, especially as community feeding is continuing out of UMD’s kitchen. Transportation and extra labor are also needed to get food from the shelter kitchen down to the hotel. Shelter residents, who can normally do their laundry at UMD, are now being shuttled to and from a laundromat at extra cost to wash their clothes. Additional staff hours are also needed to ensure there is sufficient staffing to perform resident wellness checks, operate the front desk (checking in and out), conducting hotel rounds, documenting and resolving resident issues, and preparing shift reports.
Staff believe the best way to cover these costs is to add $100,000 to the $352,000 already in UMD’s annual contract, but for UMD to invoice against that added amount as necessary to cover additional costs incurred in the noted categories through June 30th.
Alignment with Strategic Plan: Appropriate support for Durham’s homeless populations aligns most strongly with Goal 2 of the Durham County Strategic Plan.
Resource Persons: Drew Cummings, Chief of Staff (and head of the Human Services Branch in the Emergency Operations Center)
County Manager’s Recommendation: The County Manager recommends that the Board approve Budget Ordinance Amendment No. 20BCC000056 increasing the Emergency Services departmental budget by $100,000 with General Fund fund balance to support unplanned Urban Ministries of Durham expenditures associated with COVID-19. The Board is also requested to approve the attached contract amendment with Urban Ministries of Durham and authorize the County Manager to execute it.
Signature
County Manager: ____________________________