On September 21, 2022, the City received a request from the Miami-Dade County Homeless Trust (“Homeless Trust”) for $3 million to scale housing needed to further combat homelessness in the City of Miami Beach and beyond. These funds, in conjunction with funding received from Miami-Dade County and other municipalities, would be utilized by the Homeless Trust to acquire and renovate no fewer than four (4) properties to better support individuals and households living on the streets or staying in temporary emergency shelters without viable permanent housing options.
At the September 30, 2022, Finance and Economic Resiliency Committee (FERC) meeting, representatives from the Homeless Trust presented their request for $3 million in funding. After extensive discussion, the FERC recommended initial funding of $1 million, comprised of approximately $277,912 in HOME Investment Partnership American Rescue Plan Program (HOME-ARP) funding received by the City from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) that remains unallocated, subject to HUD approval, and approximately $723,000 from projected FY 2022 year-end General Fund surplus, with the commitment to look for additional funds.
However, at the October 26, 2022, City Commission meeting, the Mayor and City Commission approved the allocation of $1 million to the Homeless Trust solely from General Fund via Resolution No. 2022-32382.
On November 16, 2022, at the request of Commissioner Meiner, the City Commission referred an item to the Public Safety and Neighborhood Quality of Life Committee (PSNQLC) to discuss the criteria associated with the Interlocal Agreement (Memorandum of Understanding) with the Homeless Trust, including the timing for placements, the total number of placements, the duration of placements, and other factors that could serve as a basis for evaluating any future requests for additional funding from the Homeless Trust.
On December 14, 2022, at the request of Commissioner Fernandez, the City Commission referred an item to the FERC to discuss the performance benchmarks associated with the $1 million allocation to the Homeless Trust.
On February 1, 2023, at the request of Commissioner Richardson, the City Commission referred a discussion item to the FERC to discuss additional funding for the Homeless Trust.
On February 17, 2023, the FERC referred the Agreement to the full City Commission to identify and appropriate additional funding in the amount of $1 million.
The Administration negotiated a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the City and the County (Homeless Trust) to allocate the appropriated General Fund reserves of $1 million for a combination of forty-five (45) units and ten (10) beds to house City of Miami Beach homeless clients.
At the April 28, 2023, City Commission meeting, the Mayor and City Commission adopted Resolution No. 2023-32595, approving the draft MOU with the following revisions:
(1) to make the 90% housing retention performance indicator a requirement instead of an aspirational goal;
(2) to give the City the right to terminate the MOU and receive a refund of project funds contributed if the Homeless Trust fails to achieve the 90% housing retention requirement;
(3) grant the Homeless Trust the right to terminate the MOU by repaying the City 100% of all project funds; and
(4) to increase the City’s contribution by an additional $1 million to $2 million in the aggregate, subject to and contingent upon subsequent City Commission approval and appropriation following approval of the MOU by the Miami-Dade County Board of County Commissioners.
On May 24, 2023, the Miami-Dade County Homeless Trust sent a correspondence to the Administration requesting additional revisions to the terms of the MOU, as approved by Resolution No. 2023-32595. The Administration is currently working with the Homeless Trust to finalize the agreement for consideration by the City Commission.