Rental‑housing mediation program could need $12,000 boost after heavy use

Committee members told the finance committee that the rental‑housing mediation program has seen much higher use than in prior years and may need additional funds before the fiscal year ends.

A Committee member said the program budget of $19,000 is nearly exhausted: "We budgeted 19,000, and we're already at 18," and warned the program still has three months to cover legal and mediation work. The same member asked for an increase of about $3,000 to cover additional mediator hours and $6,000 for a legal adviser to handle outreach and casework.

Why it matters: staff and committee members said the program has been restructured to include both a mediator and a legal adviser, which they credited with raising utilization and enabling targeted outreach to Spanish‑speaking residents. The Committee member reported the program has handled approximately 85 cases this fiscal year and has spent about $11,300 on mediation and $10,780 on legal advice to date.

Committee discussion focused on whether the requested increases should be treated as emergency mid‑year additions or rolled into next fiscal‑year planning. Presenter noted the fiscal year ends in June and that the committee could approve limited onetime funding or include the amounts in next year’s budget process. Members expressed support for additional funding given demonstrated demand, but no formal motion to amend the budget for these increases was recorded in the transcript.

Next steps: committee members said staff will provide detailed case and cost data at a future meeting to permit a formal decision on mid‑year funding.