Dane County plans to add $ 4.25 million to budget to fight homelessness | Local government

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The Reindahl Park homeless camp in Madison has grown from less than a dozen campers to 60 to 70. Heidi Wegleitner, a member of the Dane County board of directors, has proposed adding an additional 4.25 million. additional dollars to the county budget to fight homelessness.


AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL ARCHIVES


The Dane County finance committee is set to consider budget changes that would add $ 4.25 million in borrowing for major homelessness projects.

The changes, which were unanimously recommended by the county’s health and human needs committee on Monday evening, would devote an additional $ 1 million to the development of a new village of cottages and an additional $ 3.25 million to the purchase of a hotel to be converted into affordable housing for the homeless.

“The ultimate solution to homelessness is permanent, affordable and accessible housing,” said Sup. Heidi Wegleitner, 2nd arrondissement, author of the amendments.

The county’s staff and finance committee will meet on Wednesday to hear presentations on the budget amendments, but will not begin discussing items until November 1. Decisions on what the finance committee will and will not add to the budget begin next week.

Dane County Executive Joe Parisi included money for projects in his budget, but Wegleitner’s amendments would give a boost and diversify funding sources.

As part of Parisi’s budget, $ 500,000 would go to the Small House Village and $ 2 million would go into new grant funding for a developer to purchase a hotel or other building to be converted into affordable housing. All of this funding comes from federal COVID-19 relief dollars.

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