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Recommendation to: 1) Authorize the City Manager to Execute an Amendment to the Service Provider Agreement with Centro Legal de la Raza to Revise the Scope of Services, with No Change to the Compensation, for Legal Services to Lower-Income Tenant Households in Alameda; and 2) Accept Centro Legal de la Raza’s Annual Report Concerning Free Legal Services for Low Income Tenants in Alameda. (Community Development 266)
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To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
In November 2018, the City Council approved a three-year Services Provider Agreement (Agreement) with Centro Legal de la Raza (Centro Legal) to provide legal services to lower-income tenant households in the City of Alameda (City) (Exhibit 1). These services include legal consultation at weekly drop-in clinics and legal representation in matters such as unlawful detainers (evictions proceedings). There were also performance goals concerning delivery of services, developing housing stabilization strategies and reporting requirements. The total compensation for these services is $500,000, spread over the three years.
The Agreement also states that Centro Legal will provide an Annual Report setting forth its assessment of its performance under the Agreement, impediments to greater program success and proposed program and scope of service amendments. The Annual Report is attached as Exhibit 2.
Based on the first year of the Agreement, City staff and representatives of Centro Legal concluded that the Scope of Services should be revised to reflect more accurately ongoing outreach efforts and work on referring cases to the City Prosecutor (a staff position that the Council recently authorized and funded). The first amendment to the Agreement includes a revised Scope of Services that is better aligned with the needs of the clients being served. No budget adjustment is needed to deliver the amended Scope of Services but part of the budgeted funds would be allocated to providing Emergency Financial Assistance to tenants in order to pay rent and avoid eviction.
BACKGROUND
In November 2018, the City Council approved a three-year Agreement with Centro Legal to provide legal services to lower-income tenant households in the City. To be eligible for services under this Agreement, the tenant must be a resident of the City and have a household income of less than 80% of the area median income. The total compensation for these services over the three-year period is $500,000, spread more or less equally over the term of the Agreement.
The Agreement set forth a Scope of Services that Centro Legal would provide to those households, such as legal consultation services at a weekly drop-in clinic, legal representation, and developing housing stabilization strategies. Legal consultation services include short-term, limited legal services provided at Centro Legal’s office in Oakland, just over the Fruitvale Bridge. Legal representation includes representing tenants in eviction proceedings and in negotiations for temporary or permanent household relocation. Housing stabilization strategies include developing a list of actions to reduce the tenant’s risk of displacement from the tenant’s housing in order to enhance housing stability.
The Agreement also sets forth certain performance goals concerning the delivery of services, developing housing stabilization strategies and reporting requirements. For example, during the first year of the Agreement, Centro Legal would provide legal consultation to 100 clients, would provide legal representation to 40 clients and would devise housing stabilization strategies for 140 clients. Centro Legal has reported its efforts to meet these performance standards quarterly and the Agreement provides the Scope of Services would be reviewed annually. Centro Legal has reported its efforts to meet the performance standards in its November 2018 - November 2019 annual report (Exhibit 2).
In reviewing the Scope of Services and the performance standards, City staff and representatives of Centro Legal have concluded that the Scope of Services should be revised. Despite Centro Legal’s concerted outreach efforts, there were concerns that the availability of these services were either not reaching a sufficient number of eligible tenant households or that the Oakland location of the drop-in clinic may have been a deterrent to some Alameda tenants. In addition, the City Council adopted a substantially new rent control ordinance and a housing discrimination ordinance in September 2019. Accordingly, Centro Legal and City staff have revised the Scope of Services to be provided as set forth in the first amendment to the Agreement with Centro Legal (Exhibit 3).
DISCUSSION
The annual report details the efforts that Centro Legal undertook between November 2018 and November 2019, as provided in the Agreement. For example, Centro Legal provided 60 legal consultations, five full-scope representations, and served a total of 62 unduplicated clients. More than 60% of the clients served were extremely low-income households, i.e., at or below 30% of the Area Median Income. The majority of the cases concerned notices of termination of tenancies, health and safety issues, unlawful detainers and unfair or unlawful behavior by landlords.
Nevertheless, the number of consultations and representations was less than the number contemplated in the Agreement. For example, the Agreement provides that over the course of the first year, Centro Legal would provide legal consultations to 100 clients, provide legal representation to 40 clients, and develop housing stabilization strategy plans with 140 clients. Centro Legal, however, recognized early on that the numbers were not as high as hoped and therefore undertook a significant, additional outreach effort in order to get the word out to the relevant communities about the availability of these services. As reflected in the annual report, Centro Legal hired an Outreach Coordinator and hosted a three-part series of workshops at the library in an effort to bring services directly to Alameda tenants. These efforts also included having tables and flyers with bilingual materials at community events, outreach at local tenant meetings and advertising/marketing in local publications. Centro Legal also held a three-part series of community-based drop-in legal clinics at the Mastick Senior Center. The report recognizes, however, that it has been hard to reach certain communities, such as Asian- language residents who are in need of services.
Centro Legal and City staff have determined that in order for this arrangement to be successful, a multifaceted approach will be required that will combine not only legal services but also outreach, education, and marketing to inform tenants of their rights, community-based clinics to ensure Alameda residents are able to access legal services, and, new to the program, City-funded emergency financial assistance to provide, for example, rent in order to avoid eviction. Alameda tenants were able to benefit from this emergency financial assistance during the first year of the Agreement as Centro Legal accessed resources from a County-funded program. The future of the County-funded program is uncertain after May 2020.
Under the proposed first amendment to the Agreement, Centro Legal will engage in a consistent, ongoing outreach effort to ensure that the availability of free legal services is widely known to lower-income tenant households. This effort will include monthly community-based clinics held at locations such as the Mastick Senior Center and the Alameda Library, as well as the weekly drop-in clinic at Centro Legal’s office in Oakland.
Centro Legal will continue to provide legal services at these clinics to assist tenants in completing forms or drafting correspondence, reviewing legal documents that tenants have received, answering questions concerning the City’s Rent Stabilization Ordinance.
Additionally, Centro Legal will:
• Continue to provide legal consultations and representation in negotiations to avoid litigation, defend tenants in eviction proceedings, and represent tenants in petition matters under the City’s Rent Stabilization Ordinance;
• Conduct “Know Your Rights” workshops throughout the community, such as at schools, community centers and places of worship and provide staff and flyers at community events, and disseminate educational materials to key community institutions;
• Prepare and present collaborative workshops with the Rent Program staff to inform Alameda tenants of Centro Legal’s services;
• Work collaboratively with the City Prosecutor (recently authorized and funded by the City Council) to refer cases concerning housing discrimination for potential prosecution; and
• Continue to work with tenants to develop housing stabilization strategies in order to reduce the risk of displacement.
The performance goals have also been revised to reflect a more realistic number of tenants that will be served. For example, the number of legal consultations has been reduced from 100 to 75, and the number of legal representations has been reduced from 40 to 20. If, however, the demand is greater, Centro Legal is prepared to meet such demand.
Moreover, part of the funding for this second year of the Agreement will be allocated to emergency financial assistance to provide back rent assistance to tenants facing a threat of eviction. Through Centro Legal’s pre-existing County-funded emergency financial assistance program, more grants under this program have been awarded to Alameda residents than any other city in the County other than Oakland. As noted above, the future of this County program is uncertain after May 2020, but because there is a documented need of such assistance, allocating a portion of Centro Legal’s budgeted funds for this year will help ensure that funding for this purpose will be available for Alameda tenants.
ALTERNATIVES
Staff recommends that the City Council accept Centro Legal’s annual report and approve the first amendment to the agreement as drafted.
• Alternative 1: Revise the recommended Scope of Services.
• Alternative 2: Decline to approve the first amendment to Agreement.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Funds were previously budgeted for the three-year agreement. No additional funds are being requested as part of approving the first amendment to Agreement.
MUNICIPAL CODE/POLICY DOCUMENT CROSS REFERENCE
Approval of the original agreement was consistent with the City’s Purchasing Policy, as is the proposed first amendment.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
Approval of the first amendment to the Agreement is exempt under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), pursuant to CEQA Guidelines, Section 15061 (b)(3) - activities covered by the General Rule.
CLIMATE CHANGE
Approval of the first amendment to the Agreement with Centro Legal has no impact on climate change.
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the City Council:
1) Authorize the City Manager to execute an amendment to the Service Provider Agreement with Centro Legal de la Raza to revise the Scope of Services, with no change to the compensation, for legal services to lower-income tenant households in Alameda; and
2) Accept Centro Legal de la Raza’s annual report concerning free legal services for lower-income tenants in Alameda.
CITY MANAGER RECOMMENDATION
The amendment as well as changes in outreach by Centro Legal de la Raza have occurred to attempt to provide an amendment that better reflects the service.
Respectfully submitted,
Debbie Potter, Community Development Director
Michael Roush, Chief Assistant City Attorney
Financial Impact section reviewed by
Elena Adair, Finance Director
Exhibits:
1. Agreement
2. Annual Report
3. First Amendment to Agreement