Nueces County accepts ERA2 funds and approves contractor to run joint ERAP portal

The Nueces County Commissioners Court on July 14 ratified the county's acceptance of an Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA2) grant deposit and approved the administration plan for ERAP 1 and ERAP 2, including expanded work with a contractor identified in the record as Hagerty.

Maria, county ERA staff, told the court that ERA2 funds were deposited into the county account in late June and recommended the court ratify acceptance of the award as a formality. Maria said ERA2 differs from ERA1 in that the county received roughly 40% of its allocation upfront rather than 100%, and that ratification clarifies the record because funds already sit in the county bank account.

On program administration, Maria said the county had issued requests for proposals and that the county and the City of Corpus Christi would jointly use Hagerty's application-management system and call center rather than building separate systems. The contractor's original task order discussed at a prior meeting (about $56,000) was amended to a larger amount in the current proposal (reported in the record as "190 3,000"); Maria said the county's total administrative allowance for the program is about $235,000, leaving roughly $42,000 for county-managed tasks after the amended task order is billed.

Maria described Hagerty's offering as a cradle-to-grave application-management system that includes a website, a phone line, in-person staffing on selected days, and robust back-end reporting. The county will receive CSV exports to process payments to vendors, tenants and landlords and will handle billing and monthly reporting. Maria said the system will provide geographic metrics down to ZIP code and precinct, and the county will receive five user licenses for administration.

County staff and the judge said the portal (referred to in the record as NuecesCountyERAP.com) and a countywide phone number will be launched with joint press materials coordinated with the City of Corpus Christi; the judge noted Corpus Christi previously received large ERA1 allotments. In-person assistance will be offered at La Retama (the central library) on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays and at rural community centers on other days. Maria and the judge emphasized the program covers rental assistance (up to 15 months) and utility/energy costs (electricity, natural gas, propane, water, sewer and trash removal) but is not a mortgage-assistance program.

The court moved, seconded and voted to accept the ERA2 grant funds and to approve the administrative approach, including the amended Hagerty task order, and directed staff to finalize outreach materials and a planned public launch later in the week. Staff reminded commissioners the eviction-moratorium end date of July 31 could increase demand and urged swift outreach.

The record contains transcription inconsistencies on exact web addresses and the amended contractor figure; the county said it will provide finalized press and outreach materials to commissioners before public launch.