[Initiative as filed March 8, 2017]

[City Clerk's letter to proponent acknowledging receipt]

[City Clerk's compliance letter to proponent, 3/10/2017]

[Transmittal of ballot title from City Attorney, 3/15/2017]

[Transmittal of ballot title from City Clerk to proponent, 3/15/2017]

[Transmittal of ballot title from City Clerk to King County Elections, 3/15/2017]

[Final version, filed 4/3/17]

AN ACT Relating to housing and services to reduce homelessness

BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE CITY OF SEATTLE:

Section 1. Intent. By enacting this Initiative, the People intend to create a compassionate and effective response to homelessness in our community. Present efforts, while significant, have been insufficient to stem the rising number of individuals and families experiencing homelessness in the City of Seattle ("City"). The People wish to turn the tide on the issue of homelessness by identifying and funding effective strategies and programs that address the problem. Such approaches may include increasing outreach and engagement, connecting families and individuals experiencing homelessness to necessary support services, expanding low-barrier shelter options, increasing housing options and encouraging innovation in potential housing solutions. The People recognize that some effective solutions may already be in place, but not adequately to scale, while other effective solutions are yet to be designed or implemented. Accordingly, the People wish to impose a property tax, the proceeds of which will be awarded competitively to programs and services that have demonstrated success or show promise of success in preventing or exiting people from homelessness. On-going evaluation and coordination of funding investments will be critical to increase effectiveness of outcomes. In taking these steps, the People hope that all members of our community, including our most vulnerable residents, will benefit from the advantages of our thriving economy.

Section 2. Findings. The People find and declare as follows:

A. The City is in the midst of an affordable housing crisis, and there has been dramatic growth in the number of residents experiencing homelessness in both sheltered and unsheltered living arrangements.

B. Seattle is part of the Seattle/King County continuum of care, the planning entity recognized by the federal government (Department of Housing and Urban Development) to organize and deliver housing and services to meet the specific needs of persons who are homeless with the explicit goal of moving these persons into stable housing. HUD identifies four parts of a continuum of care: (1) outreach, intake and assessment; (2) emergency shelter; (3) transitional housing; and (4) permanent housing.

C. At the time of the 2016 One Night Count, a total of 10,688 individuals were experiencing homelessness in King County, comprised of 6,183 individuals in overnight shelters or transitional housing and 4,505 individuals outside without shelter. In the City alone, 2,942 individuals were outside without shelter.

D. The City's Mayor and King County's Executive each has declared an emergency due to the growing crisis of homelessness, and the Mayor's declaration made available additional City funding, including support for rapid rehousing for individuals and families experiencing homelessness and diversion programs for households at imminent risk of homelessness.

E. Despite these emergency declarations and similar affordable housing crises in growing cities across the United States, the federal government has not provided and is unlikely to provide adequate funding to assist local governments such as the City in providing housing or services for persons experiencing homelessness.

F. In August 2016, City voters approved an expanded seven-year housing levy to fund a range of affordable housing initiatives, including (among others) creating an estimated 2,150 new apartments for homeless and low-income households and providing short-term assistance to support 4,500 households at imminent risk of eviction and homelessness.

G. In accordance with the Housing Affordability and Livability Agenda, the City has begun to implement Mandatory Housing Affordability, which is expected to produce approximately 6,000 new affordable housing units over ten years following full implementation.

H. There remains a great need to create new housing opportunities and services, such as rapid rehousing and diversion, intended to help residents transition from homelessness to stable housing and to help those who are at risk of entering the homelessness system to avoid doing so.

I. To reduce homelessness in the City, it is critical that resources are provided for (1) persons at high risk of homelessness, (2) persons currently experiencing homelessness, and (3) formerly homeless persons living in permanent supportive housing (collectively, "persons in need of housing stability").

J. In March 2015, the Human Services Department (the "Department") released the Homelessness Investments Analysis which provided an analysis of the City's current base investments in homelessness services. This analysis showed that current base investments are heavily focused on emergency services and interventions that are designed to address the immediate crisis of homelessness, and do not reflect investment in a cohesive and comprehensive continuum of strategies designed to end someone's homelessness.

K. The City has committed significant resources to emergency shelters, and such shelters are necessary to prevent even more individuals from living in unsheltered and wholly inadequate conditions; however, there is also a need to provide increased resources to programs that are focused on preventing homelessness and programs that help people secure and remain in permanent housing.

L. Barriers continue to prevent persons most at risk of homelessness from accessing meaningful and effective services. Successfully transitioning high need, long term homeless persons to permanent housing will remain challenging until deep and enduring services can be focused on this population.

M. In September 2016, the City published Pathways Home, a policy framework and action plan that articulated a strategy for addressing homelessness with renewed urgency and envisioned a coordinated, effective, and person-centered crisis response that invests in what works and addresses racial disparities in order to make homelessness a rare, brief, and one-time occurrence in residents' lives. The Pathways Home plan articulates a commitment that all interventions must contribute to rapidly providing access to stable housing for persons who are at imminent risk of or experiencing homelessness.

N. In accordance with Pathways Home, the City should embrace the evidence-based Housing First philosophy, which recognizes the basic necessity of stable housing as a foundation for successful engagement in clinical services and other appropriate supports. This is a commitment critical to investing in what works and with a singular focus of moving people to stable housing, as well as shifting to a system able to nimbly respond and invest resources across interventions based on current need and best-practices.

O. In accordance with Pathways Home and because people of color disproportionately experience homelessness, the City's investments in homelessness services should focus on having a measurable impact on identified racial disparities, including evaluating and addressing institutional policies and practices that perpetuate such overrepresentation.

P. Enhanced outreach and services to people living unsheltered, through new efforts such as multidisciplinary outreach teams and 24-hour low-barrier shelters, are critical to connecting people with housing and services that are suitable for their needs.

Q. Individualized services based on assessments of the needs, strengths, and vulnerabilities of persons and families, together with increased access to treatment for mental and behavioral health disorders, including substance use treatment, will promote housing stability.

R. Expanded options for housing and related services are necessary to assist persons in need of housing stability, and such options include but are not limited to permanent supportive housing, graduation housing, short-, medium- and long term rental subsidies, and diversion to prevent homelessness.

S. Funding reserved for housing innovation should encourage experimentation in innovative service models and leverage investment in facilities with real potential for transitioning people to stable housing.

T. In addition to funding, the City's approach to homeless services requires operational improvements such as better coordination with other major funders, the prioritization of permanent housing, options and services for persons experiencing literal homelessness, and the use of performance-based contracting for homelessness programs.

U. Geographic dispersion is an important principle to achieve equity and parity in siting facilities and providing services to reflect the diverse needs of the City's neighborhoods. For example, the 2016 North Seattle Human Services Summit reported on the lack of capacity in human services provided in the north end of the City for highly vulnerable populations. Geographic dispersion of levy funds will serve as an important framework to ensure that services are provided to individuals experiencing homelessness, which is often compounded by other risk factors such as being a survivor of sexual exploitation or experiencing mental health and behavioral health disorders, including opioid use. These populations currently have few options in their north Seattle communities to seek services. To be effective, human services must be brought to the communities and individuals in need. Consequently, this requires new investments, as well as enhancements of current investments.

V. Establishing an Independent Homelessness Policy and Evaluation Panel (the "Panel") will help the City establish and revise funding priorities for programs, projects and services funded through the Homelessness Services Fund and all of the sources available for funding services or providing housing for persons in need of housing stability.

W. In order to enhance the prospects for improved outcomes in the delivery of City funded services provided to persons in need of housing stability, compensation paid to community based nonprofit organizations contracting with the City to provide such services should support organizational capacity building such that services are delivered by appropriately qualified, trained, experienced and compensated personnel.

X. Enhanced outreach, expanded housing options, and individualized services will require significant funding investments that cannot be accommodated within current funding levels.

Y. Chapter 84.55 RCW generally limits the dollar amount of regular property taxes that a city may levy in any year, but RCW 84.55.050 allows a city to levy regular property taxes exceeding such limit with the approval of a majority of the City's voters.

Z. Levying a regular property tax exceeding the City's limits is appropriate to fund effective and innovative responses to homelessness.

Section 3. Authorization of Levy of Additional Regular Property Taxes.

Pursuant to RCW 84.55.050, the qualified electors of the City approve a proposition to exceed the levy limitation on regular property taxes contained in RCW 84.55.010 for regular property taxes levied in 2017 through 2021 for collection in 2018 through 2022, respectively, by $275,000,000 in aggregate over a period of five years. Subject to the maximum rate applicable by law, the City shall levy regular property taxes in an amount not to exceed $55,000,000 in the first year and in each subsequent year during the five-year period, in addition to the maximum amount of regular property taxes the City would be authorized to levy under RCW 84.55.010 in the absence of this initiative measure. The proceeds of the levy of additional regular property taxes shall be used for the purposes specified in Section 5 of this initiative measure. Pursuant to RCW 84.55.050(5), subsequent levies shall be computed as if the levy lid contained in RCW 84.55.010 had not been lifted under this initiative measure.

Section 4. Homelessness Services Fund.

A. A Homelessness Services Fund shall be established. All revenues collected from the additional regular property taxes authorized pursuant to this initiative measure shall be deposited in the Homelessness Services Fund. The Director of Finance and Administrative Services (or any successor to the functions thereof) is authorized to create other subfunds or accounts within the Homelessness Services Fund as may be necessary or appropriate to implement the purposes of this initiative measure.

B. Pending expenditure for the purposes authorized in this initiative measure, amounts deposited in the Homelessness Services Fund may be invested as permitted by applicable law. All investment earnings on the balances thereof shall be deposited into the Homelessness Services Fund.

C. At the end of the fifth year of the levy, Homelessness Services Funds that have been committed to rental subsidies will be transferred to the Office of Housing Operations Fund or its successor. The Office of Housing will manage payments to providers for the remaining years of each subsidy. These funds will be used for this express purpose and this purpose only.

Section 5. Use of Levy Proceeds. Subject to the appropriation thereof, funds on deposit in the Homelessness Services Fund shall be used by the Department, or any City agency succeeding to its functions with respect to the provision of housing and services for persons in need of housing stability, solely to pay costs as follows:

A. Connecting People Living Unsheltered with Services, Shelter and Housing. In conjunction with the City's substantial existing and continuing support for such services, outreach and services to people living unsheltered, which may include models such as multidisciplinary outreach teams and enhanced low-barrier shelters. Over the entire five years of the levy, no more than $45 million of the Homelessness Services Fund may be spent on this category of services;

B. Expanded Housing Options. Non-emergency housing and related services to assist persons in need of housing stability, through such options as permanent supportive housing, graduation housing, short-, medium- and long-term rental subsidies, and diversion;

C. Increasing Access to Mental Health and Behavioral Health Services. Services appropriate to the needs of persons in need of housing stability, including but not limited to inpatient and outpatient treatment for mental health and substance abuse disorders;

D. Housing Innovation. Promoting the development of innovative service models and new capital facilities having a promising potential to transition people from homelessness to stable housing; and

E. Administrative Costs. The City's administrative costs to implement this initiative, including those for support of the Panel, shall be capped at nine percent of total Homelessness Services Fund expenditures.

F. Geographic Dispersion. To the extent feasible, allocation of funds from the Homelessness Services Fund will reflect geographic dispersion principles in their implementation, given the broad presence throughout the City of persons in need of housing stability.

In the annual City budget, after considering the recommendations of the Panel, the City shall, from year to year, determine the homelessness investments and funding allocations that will most effectively achieve the Levy goals and outcomes. To the extent practicable, the allocation of Homelessness Services Fund expenditures (including City administrative costs) among the purposes set forth in this Section should conform with the following allocation guidelines over the life of the levy:

Uses of Levy Proceeds Expenditures

Connecting People Living Unsheltered with Services, Shelter and Housing Up to $45 million

Increasing Access to Mental Health and Behavioral Health Services $25 million

Expanded Housing Options $195 million

Housing Innovation Fund $10 million

Total $275 million

Section 6. Independent Homelessness Policy and Evaluation Panel.

A. An Independent Homelessness Policy and Evaluation Panel is established for the purpose of providing independent monitoring of the efficacy of programs, projects and services funded through the Homelessness Services Fund and all other sources available to the City for funding services or providing housing for persons in need of housing stability; recommending to the Mayor and the City Council the appropriate allocation of funding from the Homelessness Services Fund and all other sources available to the City for funding services or providing housing for persons in need of housing stability; and regularly monitoring and reporting on the evolution of experienced-based and outcomes-driven best practices in the delivery of services or provision of housing to such persons, as more fully described herein.

B. The Panel shall have five members. Three members shall be appointed by the Mayor and two members shall be appointed by the Chair of the City Council Human Services Public Health Committee or its successor committee, all subject to confirmation by the City Council. At least three members shall be experts or deeply experienced in homeless service delivery and have awareness of sector wide best practices. Other members shall have distinguished professional qualifications or relevant personal experiences that would meaningfully contribute to the Panel's substantive work and enhance its overall credibility. No member shall be a City or King County employee, an immediate family member, or an individual residing with a City or King County employee. No member shall be an officer, director, board member, trustee, partner, or employee of an entity that is a party to a contract or is seeking a contract award through an active competitive solicitation or otherwise; or be a member of the immediate family of, or an individual residing with, an officer, director, board member, trustee, partner, or employee of an entity that is a party to a contract or is seeking a contract award through an active competitive solicitation or otherwise; or be a person seeking or having an arrangement concerning future employment with an entity that is a party to a contract or is seeking a contract award through an active competitive solicitation or otherwise. For the purposes of this subsection, an individual's "immediate family" means the individual's spouse, domestic partner, child, child of a spouse or domestic partner, sibling in law, parent, parent of a spouse or domestic partner, a person for whom the individual acts as a guardian, or a person claimed as a dependent on the individual's most recent federal tax return. For purposes of this Section, contract means any contract described in subsection 7.A of this ordinance.

C. The Mayor may remove any member who is absent from two or more consecutive Panel meetings without cause. The Mayor may remove any member for other good cause shown or to ensure compliance with subsection 6.B of this ordinance. Within one month of the resignation, death, incapacity or removal of a Panel member, the City elected official who appointed the departing member should appoint a replacement, subject to confirmation by the City Council.

D. The Panel shall meet at least quarterly and may meet more frequently as the Panel determines to be necessary to fulfill its responsibilities.

E. Panel members shall serve without compensation, but may be reimbursed for appropriate expenses incurred in the performance of their responsibilities as a Panel member, specifically including travel in connection with the Panel's work, all subject to applicable City expense reimbursement policies and procedures.

F. The initial Panel members should be selected within three months after voter approval of the proposition submitted by this initiative. The Mayor shall designate a Chair and Vice Chair of the Panel from among its Council confirmed members. The Panel may adopt such rules and procedures relating to the operation of the Panel as it determines necessary or appropriate.

G. The Panel shall continue in existence for as long as the tax revenues authorized by this initiative proposition or by subsequent renewals of such levy authorization remain unspent and, thereafter, if so provided by ordinance.

H. Routine staffing of the Panel shall be provided by the Department. To supplement the Department's work, the Panel shall have the authority to request reasonable evaluations and studies related to programs, projects and services for persons in need of housing stability, supported, as reasonably necessary, by independent consultants and other advisers. Such consultants or advisers shall be retained by the Department and must be acceptable to the Panel. The work of the Panel shall be adequately supported by funding from all available sources appropriated to and provided by and though the Department; provided that funding from the Homelessness Services Fund for such purpose shall not exceed $275,000 in any City fiscal year.

I. The Department shall prepare a strategic plan encompassing the programs, projects and services funded through the Homelessness Services Fund and all other sources available to the City for funding services or providing housing for persons in need of housing stability, including desired outcomes. To the maximum extent practical, such outcomes shall be articulated such that progress is confirmable with reasonably reliable data. The first such strategic plan shall be available for review and comment by the Panel such that the Panel's review and recommendations can be considered by the Department prior to the first competitive funding cycle utilizing funds from the Homelessness Services Fund and by the City Council in the City's budget cycles. The Department shall update the strategic plan annually, in consultation with the Panel so that the Panel's recommendations can continue to inform Department funding cycles and the City Council during City budget cycles. The Panel shall be involved in evaluating performance against the prior year's plan and in scoping outcomes and, to the extent necessary, corrective actions to be incorporated in plan revisions.

J. The Department shall complete and issue performance and evaluation reports on the City's progress towards the goals and outcomes of this initiative, including progress towards exiting persons from and preventing homelessness. Such reports shall be provided to the Panel on at least a quarterly basis or more or less frequently as reasonably requested by the Panel. The Panel may request, and the Department shall produce or reasonably obtain, additional information the Panel deems relevant to carrying out its duties and responsibilities.

K. The City's Homeless Policy Framework reflected in its Pathways Home person centered plan to support persons in need of housing stability and the principles and strategies reflected therein shall guide and inform the work of the Panel. To the extent the Panel identifies additional principles and strategies through its own evaluation of the evolution of experience based and outcome driven best practices in the delivery of services or the provision of housing to such persons, the Panel shall make recommendations to the Mayor and Council for the review and updating of the Homelessness Policy Framework.

L. In fulfilling its role and responsibilities, the Panel shall have the following specific responsibilities:

1. Each year, the Panel shall:

a. Review and provide recommendations with respect to the strategic plan, including for the utilization of Homelessness Services Fund funds and all other sources available to the City for funding services or providing housing for persons in need of housing stability for review, consideration and possible updating by the Mayor and City Council.

b. Timely recommend to the Mayor and City Council a specific allocation of funding available in the Homelessness Services Fund to and among the uses of such funds prescribed in Section 5 of this ordinance, which recommendation shall be considered by the Mayor and City Council in adopting the City's biennial budget and any mid-biennium adjustments thereto. To the extent the Mayor or City Council choose to disregard the Panel's recommendations, the Mayor's or Council's decision shall be accompanied by a specific written rationale for departing from such recommendations.

c. Report to the Mayor and City Council on its observations and recommendations resulting from both its monitoring of the efficacy of the programs, projects and services funded through the Homelessness Services Fund and all other sources available to the City for funding services or providing housing for persons in need of housing stability and its evaluation of the evolution of experienced-based and outcomes-driven best practices in the delivery of services or provision of housing to such persons.

2. In support of the Panel's oversight and evaluation role, provide recommendations to the Department regarding requirements to be incorporated in the Department's competitive processes for use of Homelessness Services Fund funding, including recommendations regarding overall contract policies, specifications, requirements, selection criteria, data collection, and performance indicators.

3. Review and provide recommendations to the People, the Mayor, the City Council, the King County Executive and the King County Council for improving the effectiveness of coordination between all funders and providers of services or housing to persons in need of housing stability.

4. Undertake such other initiatives as the Panel, in consultation with the Mayor and City Council, reasonably considers useful and relevant to its mission as summarized in subsection 6.A of this ordinance.

Section 7. Homelessness Services Contracts.

A. Competitive solicitation shall be used to award all contracts, grants, and other agreements payable from funds on deposit in the Homelessness Services Fund (each, a "Contract or Contracts"). It is further the People's desire that, to the maximum extent practicable, the City use competitive solicitation in all of its contracts that fund services or provide housing for persons in need of housing stability regardless of funding source. This section shall not apply to contracts between the City and a state, local or other government or governmental agency for which a sole source contract is justifiable.

B. Prior to issuing a request for proposals in connection with one or more anticipated Contracts or other agreements funded from all other sources available to the City for funding services or providing housing for persons in need of housing stability, the Department shall take into consideration the Panel's recommendations regarding overall contract policies, specifications, requirements, selection criteria, data collection, and performance indicators.

C. The Director of Finance and Administrative Services shall make appropriate allowances for (1) the higher costs of high-quality programs staffed with clinical or social service professionals and paraprofessionals and (2) a reasonable wage differential in organizations where employee wages have increased or will increase as a result of the City's minimum wage.

D. Each Contract shall include performance-based incentives in which a portion of the contractor's compensation is contingent upon the achievement of specified outcomes, and shall give the Department the right to terminate all or any portion of the Contract for convenience upon at least thirty days' notice.

Section 8. Section Titles. Section titles are for convenient reference only and do not modify or limit the text of a section.

Section 9. Severability. If any one or more provisions of this initiative measure shall for any reason be held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect any other provision of this initiative measure or the levy of additional taxes authorized, but this initiative measure shall be construed and enforced as if such invalid provisions had not been contained herein, except that if any provision shall be held invalid by reason of its extent or the range of persons eligible to benefit therefrom, then such provision shall be deemed to be in effect to the extent permitted by law and to benefit only such class of persons as may lawfully be granted the benefit thereof.

Section 10. Voter Approval. This initiative measure shall take effect as provided in Article IV, Section 1.F of the Charter of the City of Seattle, except as otherwise provided in Section 11 of this initiative measure.

Section 11. Effect of Enactment by the City Council. In the event that this initiative measure is enacted by the City Council pursuant to Article IV, Section 1.C of the Charter of the City of Seattle, (A) the City Council, the City Clerk, the City Attorney, and all other appropriate City officials shall take all actions necessary to submit to the qualified electors of the City, at a special election to coincide with the primary election to be held on August 1, 2017, a levy lid lift proposition that is consistent in all respects with this initiative measure; and (B) in the event that certified election results show that such levy lid lift proposition has failed to receive the number of votes required for its approval, such ordinance shall be of no further effect.