Tarrant Commissioners decline to add to fund for rent and utilities assistance
A motion to put more money into the Tarrant County rent and utility assistance program failed on Tuesday.
In April, the CEO for Center for Transforming Lives told commissioners the allotted $2 million for the rent and utilities program they manage is running out quickly. Carol Klocek, the CEO for the company managing the program, said the funds likely will not last until the end of the contract in October.
In response, Democratic Commissioner Alisa Simmons moved to add $338,370 of undesignated funds to Center for Transforming Lives’s county-granted budget. None of the three present court members seconded the motion, causing it to fail without any discussion.
Democrat Commissioner Roderick Miles was not present at the meeting, only Simmons and the three Republicans: County Judge Tim O’Hare, and Commissioners Manny Ramirez and Matt Krause.
Ramirez told the Star-Telegram he did not second it because he didn’t know exactly what the dollars would have been going toward. He said he had not been briefed on the proposal by the budget office or anyone from Center for Transforming Lives ahead of the meeting.
No one from the non-profit was present at the May 12 meeting to speak to what the funding would be designated for.
Simmons said while a representative’s presence would have been helpful, it wasn’t necessary.
She said her goal was to meet the obvious need Tarrant County residents have for the utility and rent assistance programs. Simmons said on May 11 that the portal for applicants was only open for 25 minutes and 38 seconds before it hit the 200 applicant maximum. The next time it will be open is on June 1.
“The county has community services funds in undesignated which is available just for this use,” Simmons said in a written statement. “Those are funds I was seeking to get approved today in an amended contract.”
Though he is “over the moon” with the nonprofit’s performance, Ramirez said he will need a specific ask from the county budget office or Center for Transforming Lives before approving more funds.
“I think that’s the responsible thing to do, not just come up with our own funding formula,” Ramirez said.
O’Hare told the Star-Telegram in a written statement that county grants are not supposed to function as one commissioner’s personal discretionary fund.
“It’s clear Commissioner Simmons thought these funds should be used at her discretion” O’Hare said. “I’m grateful the Commissioners Court took the right action to protect taxpayer dollars.”
Helen Giese, director of the Tarrant County budget and risk management office, said the budget office reached out to Center for Transforming Lives after Klocek said the money was going quickly.
“So we reached out to them the other day and said, ‘Hey, there’s this money,’” Giese said. “And they actually asked us to pause for a moment to see if they would be able, because there’s timeframes involved.”
Giese said the budget office and Center for Transforming Lives are still in conversation to decide if additional funding can be granted before the contract expires at the end of October.
Klocek said in a written statement that the nonprofit deeply appreciates the support from Tarrant County.
“An estimated 534 evictions are filed every week for Tarrant County residents,” Klocek said. “Many of these residents have been affected by layoffs, work hours being cut, or medical emergencies beyond their control. Center for Transforming Lives is working to get assistance to as many people as possible and will continue to do so.”