Title
Recommendation to Allow the Agreement with Centro Legal De La Raza to Expire and to Authorize the City Attorney's Office to Provide Housing Education and Mediation Services for Landlords and Tenants on a Pilot Basis Using Contracted Resources. (City Attorney 10023040)
Body
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
In November 2018, the City Council approved a three-year Agreement with Centro Legal De La Raza (Centro) to provide legal services to lower-income tenant households, which will expire on November 13, 2021. Rather than renew the agreement, staff is requesting that City Council approve staff's recommendation to permit the Centro contract to expire and to establish an in-house program, a pilot basis, which expands the services offered to serve landlords and tenants, while reducing total costs, especially those borne by the General Fund.
BACKGROUND
In August 2018, staff issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for legal services. Despite reaching out to local tenant legal service providers and extending the RFP deadline, the City of Alameda (City) received only one proposal in response to the RFP.
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 had to be a resident of the city and have a household income of less than 80% of the area median income (AMI). The total compensation for these services over the three-year period was $500,000, allocated from the General Fund, spread more or less equally over the term of the Agreement. The Agreement with Centro Legal expires November 13, 2021.
At the same time that the City Council was considering a proposal to fund tenant legal services, the County of Alameda (County) was implementing a countywide program to provide anti-displacement services in unincorporated Alameda County and cities within the County...
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