Cedar Rapids City Council wants city to elevate its leadership on homelessness solutions

CEDAR RAPIDS — A rise in homelessness in Linn County over the last several years demands an increased focus from City Hall, members of the Cedar Rapids City Council decided this week.

In the council’s 2023 goal-setting session Wednesday, the elected officials agreed it was necessary to elevate the city’ role as a guiding force for area social service agencies in collaboration with Linn County to address the growing number of unsheltered people.

“It bleeds into everything,” council member Dale Todd said. “We really need to enter that arena more forcefully.”

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Todd, who represents District 3 that encompasses the downtown area, said the nature of downtown has changed over the last 20 years, and even more just since the onset of COVID-19 in 2020.

“What is really going on now is we have complicated people who have complicated needs that are occupying parts of downtown,” Todd said.

In January, volunteers found 30 unsheltered people in Linn County for the annual winter “Point in Time” count that’s conducted across the country. That count was 19 the previous winter. The summer record high was in July 2022, when the number of unsheltered people reached 107 — more than triple the number three years before.

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The council last year awarded $22,750 in federal American Rescue Plan Act funding to bring in the National Alliance to End Homelessness to evaluate existing services and make recommendations.

Community Development Director Jennifer Pratt said officials with the organization will visit Cedar Rapids in June, so the timing of council identifying it as a top priority is “just the right sequence.”

The organization will look at all the homelessness resources here including Linn County and nonprofit partners, Pratt said. Once officials have taken stock of existing resources, they will give suggestions for investments the city can make or possible state resources to leverage to address the problem. Pratt said officials also will survey local and nonprofit leadership, the workers focused on homelessness and those experiencing homelessness.

“They really are getting that 360 view of the issue,” Pratt said.

Council member Ashley Vanorny said coming up with solutions for homelessness would be more complex than simply expanding Willis Dady Homeless Services. The city needs to get into root causes such as housing security, substance use disorder and mental health, she said.

“It’s not quick fixes that give us quick rewards. It’s a long process. It does need to happen,” Vanorny said. “... I would love to see us do that, but it’s a different process than we’ve embarked on yet.”

Council member Scott Olson said the county’s strength is mental and public health, so county officials are interested in this being a team effort. No single entity has the resources to create a homeless program, he said, but entities can work in concert to address the problem.

Olson also said the overflow homeless shelter can’t be the sole solution. The facility opens every year when temperatures dip. It closed in March for this season.

“We have a manageable scale and we have great agencies,” Olson said. “Most of them don’t have the money to address this issue.”

In a summary of council questionnaire responses prepared by Community Development staff, council members suggested ideas such as the creation of a homeless solutions staffer and creative housing options for those experiencing homelessness downtown.

Economic development changes coming

Mayor Tiffany O’Donnell said the city was working to shake up its way of doing economic development, though she didn’t elaborate on the changes planned.

“We have some pro-business work that we need to do better,” O’Donnell said.

The city’s proposed fiscal 2024 budget spanning July 1 through June 30, 2024, allocates $390,000 for economic development programming. City Manager Jeff Pomeranz said in February the city will look to be more active in business recruitment and retention.

Council members were supportive in February of the economic development programming shifts to come. Some pushed back Wednesday against the suggestion that the city wasn’t doing enough to give businesses and developers a boost, using tools such as tax increment financing where it makes sense.

“It’s never been easier to develop in this city than it is right now,” Todd said.

Other key priorities continue

The only other new priority council identified was promoting a clean and safe city and neighborhoods — prioritizing things such as sidewalk repairs, enforcing nuisance properties and investing in public safety.

Current priorities remain a commitment but already have traction, including:

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