Hays County lost an additional $1.7 million in funding for its Emergency Rental Assistance Program after the U.S. Treasury recaptured the money due to the county not meeting a milestone for distribution.
According to a news release, “Prior to that date, county officials sent a request that the Treasury either not recapture the funds or, if they must be recaptured, to re-allocate them back to the county based on our current and projected level of efficiency. In that letter, Hays County outlined how during the first six months of the program, under a program manager who resigned in early January, the county distributed about $757,000 and helped 384 applicants (commonly referred to with the ERA office as tickets).”
During Tuesday’s Hays County Commissioners Court, there will be an update by the Director of Countywide Operations and Hays County staff on the ERA program.
This is the second time the Treasury has taken funds back. In September, $772,791 in ERA funding was recaptured as well due to the same issue in allocating the funds.
The commissioners will also discuss and possibly take action in awarding a contract for the Emergency Rental Assistance Program, program manager to Ardurra Group, Inc., which was previously recommended by the evaluation committee.
Hays County said its ERA program has processed 155 ERA tickets for assistance and paid out $430,000 since its program manager departed. The county added that another $113,000 is committed to hotels for housing stability.
“We are on track to distribute the ERA1 funding in a more efficient manner,” Hays County Commissioner Walt Smith said in a statement. “With a more streamlined process in place, we believe more Hays County residents can be helped in a shorter amount of time.”
Hays County stated that its auditor’s office confirmed that the U.S. Treasury Office received a letter from the county regarding the ERA program and created an open ticket. But the county is unsure when the treasury will announce a decision.
“Hays County is hopeful that the U.S. Treasury will take our request under serious consideration,” Hays County Commissioner Mark Jones said.
Added Commissioner Debbie Ingalsbe: “If they see the efficiencies and see how we are working to complete more tickets, we believe Treasury will agree that losing the funding would mean we would lose the ability to help that many more residents in jeopardy of being evicted or having necessary utility services shut off.”
The court will also make several proclamations, the first declaring the month of February 2022 as Career and Technical Education Month in Hays County.
According to the proclamation, it will, “honor students who have chosen to pursue career and technical education as a means of acquiring real world skills to compete in the workforce.”
The county commissioners will also recognize Feb. 21, 2022, as President George Washington Day.
A proclamation is set to be adopted to recognize the one-year anniversary and achievements of the Council for the Indigenous and Tejano Community (CITC).
The proclamation states, “In the past year, the Council has been instrumental in bringing the history of Indigenous and Tejano people to the forefront of the community in the form of historical narratives, proclamations, murals, naming of government buildings.”
There will be a presentation by GAP Strategies and acceptance of a report by the professional team charged with enhancing and incentivizing conservation and conservation design in Hays County.
The presentation will include feedback, summaries and specific action steps from a subcommittee of the commissioners court and county staff, who have worked with an interdisciplinary team of professionals to review existing county development regulations, conservation design efforts across the nation.
During the meeting, there will be a discussion and possible action taken to award a contract for the animal shelter and Animal Services Feasibility Study to Team Shelter USA.
Following the evaluation of proposals from the evaluation committee, they have recommended pursuing negotiations with Team Shelter USA. A contract will be brought back before the court to approve and finalize the contract award after negotiations.
The commissioners court meeting will begin at 9 a.m. at the Hays County Historic Courthouse located at 111 E. San Antonio St.
Those looking to participate in public comments can submit a public participation/witness form to the county clerk before 9 a.m. on Tuesday.
For those not attending the meeting but are still wishing to submit public comments to be read during commissioners court, visit the Hays County website to fill out and submit a PDF form to [email protected] no later than 5 p.m. the evening prior to a commissioners court meeting.
To view the full meeting agenda or watch the commissioner court livestream, visit https://hayscountytx.com/commissioners-court/court-video.
