CM Pierina Sanchez questions OMB on CityFEPs cost containment plan development

Hello, we're still here.

Okay.

So continuing my questions around the FEPS program, at the General Welfare Executive Budget Hearing last week, DSS gave us some

insight into the cost containment savings in the executive plan for DHS and HRA.

The plan includes savings of $543.5 million in fiscal 27, $280 million in 28, and $336 million in fiscal year 29.

And $381 million in fiscal 2030 across.

HRA and DHS from city, state, and federal sources.

These savings will be generated through a cost containment plan for the FEPS program and DHS shelters, where DSS aims to more effectively maximize the use of non-city funded housing subsidy programs, ensure long-term shelter residents

obtain subsidized exits, and improve shelter diversion and intake.

Can you walk us through how OMB worked with DSS to develop the cost containment plan?

What specific indicators did OMB and DSS use to estimate the projected savings starting in fiscal 27?

And if I have time, I'll ask one.

Sure.

So thank you for your question.

Let me start, and then I'll turn it over to Patrick DiStefano to continue.

So we worked on, and I alluded to some of this in my testimony, but we looked at certain things in terms of centralizing central support, in terms of operational support, and finding other efficiencies.

So it was a few things that we talked about.

Rent reasonableness, for example.

We talked about comparing legal rents against the division of homes and community renewal legal rent.

data list.

We talked about reducing broker's fees.

We talked about alternative ways that we can potentially use arrears, for example, rent arrears through one-shot funding to be able to

find a different pathway for families that may be facing eviction.

So we talked about those and all of these things.

What was the North Star here was without cutting vouchers, without cutting vouchers.

At the same time, we looked at ways that

And this is a one-time savings in terms of fiscal 27, which is can we, and this goes to your earlier question, council member, where we can look at ways to

vacate some of the hotels and into shelter capacity where it exists, and that achieves savings in FY27.

Patrick, I don't know if you want to add anything to that.

All the things the director said fit into this very holistic view of what we're doing here.

I mean, even before that, you know, before you get to the front door, we've invested more in right to counsel, $20 million or $40 million more for that.

So we're trying to prevent evictions.

We want to get every step of the process, people from not entering shelter to when they get into shelter, if they get a voucher, they have education and training opportunities to be more self-sufficient.

So holistically, we looked at every aspect of it, and that's how we arrived at these conclusions.

Thank you.

I'm going to say a statement instead of a question.

To respect time, if the chair will allow.

I think it is fair to say that settlement negotiations around the FEPS expansion, there needs to be a number in the budget this year in this negotiation.

And so I'm hoping that with the controller and the council's more rosy projections for revenue in this year with the savings that are being identified, maybe more savings that are being identified, that we really get there

in terms of being able to expand vouchers for families that need it.

I think we can do so much more.

And just on my question before, I do want to make sure that we get on the same page that FEPS is cheaper on a per person basis than shelter is because I just because I believe you.

I believe that you want to focus you and your colleagues in this administration want to focus on permanent housing.

I believe that you mean that and I believe that this administration and this council can think big together and that we can be the first sort of administration to pivot the city from fulfilling our right to shelter mandate through shelter

and do that instead in housing.

We can be the beginning of a title shift.

So I just really wanted to emphasize that and thank you chair for the extra time.