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A resolution appropriating $2,395,322.00 in American Rescue Plan Act funds from Fund #30216 to provide legal representation to low and moderate-income Davidson County renters to defend against landlord eviction.
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WHEREAS, on June 15, 2021, the Metropolitan Council passed Resolution RS2021-966, a resolution which accepted grant funds for local government support from the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds established by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (“ARP Funds”) from the U.S. Department of the Treasury to The Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson Count, which was subsequently signed into law by Mayor John Cooper on June 16, 2021; and,
WHEREAS, Resolution RS2021-966 established a COVID-19 Financial Oversight Committee ("the Committee") whose role is to collect, consider, and recommend appropriate uses of the ARP Funds as designated by the Metropolitan Council disbursement plan. The Committee will submit its reports and recommendations to the Mayor, the Director of Finance, and the Metropolitan Council not later than June 30, 2025; and,
WHEREAS, there are federal requirements for use of ARP Funds that require that these funds be expended or obligated on or before December 31, 2024; and,
WHEREAS, the Committee recognizes that protecting low and moderate-income renters is a critical priority identified by the community and that the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in on-going negative financial effects on families across Davidson County; and,
WHEREAS, the Committee recognizes that renter right to counsel programs are proven to reduce displacement due to eviction, increase housing stability, and reduce inflows into homelessness; and,
WHEREAS, RS2022-1559 approved a resolution appropriating $2,600,851.00 in ARP Funds to Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands (“Legal Aid”) and Conexion Americas, through the Nashville Hispanic Bar Association, (“NHBA”) to provide legal representation to low and moderate-income Davidson County renters to defend against landlord eviction; and,
WHEREAS, Legal Aid and NHBA have proposed a continuation of the program that will provide outreach and education, pre-filing legal aid, direct legal representation, and program evaluation, as further described in Exhibit A; and,
WHEREAS, it is to the benefit of the citizens of The Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County that this resolution be approved.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE METROPOLITAN GOVERNMENT OF NASHVILLE AND DAVIDSON COUNTY:
Section 1. The Metropolitan Council accepts this resolution as a recommendation of the COVID-19 Financial Oversight Committee.
Section 2. That $ 1,648,322.00 from the Covid-19 American Rescue Plan Fund #30216 is hereby appropriated to Legal Aid to be used to administer the program described in Exhibit A.
Section 3. That $747,000.00 from the Covid-19 American Rescue Plan Fund #30216 is hereby appropriated to the Nashville Hispanic Bar Association to be used to administer the program described in Exhibit A.
Section 4. This resolution shall take effect from and after its final passage, the welfare of the public requiring it.
Agenda Analysis
Analysis
This resolution appropriates $2,395,322 in American Rescue Plan Act (“ARPA”) funds from Fund #30216.
Resolution No. RS2022-1559 appropriated $2,600,851 in ARPA funds to the Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands and Conexión Américas for a two year pilot program to defend against landlord eviction. The program was to provide outreach and education, pre-filing legal aid, direct legal representation, and program evaluation. This program was known as the Eviction Right to Counsel (“ERTC”).
The ordinance under consideration would appropriate an additional $2,395,322 to continue to fund the ERTC program through Fiscal Year 2025. $1,648,322 would be allocated to the Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands, and $747,000 would be allocated to the Nashville Hispanic Bar Association.
ERTC provides legal representation to low- to moderate-income renters in Nashville and Davidson County in eviction cases, provide over-the-phone and in-person support to answer housing-related questions, conduct a city-wide, multi-language public awareness campaign, and provide legal information at the Davidson County Courthouse on eviction court days.
Through the funding in question, ERTC organizers would aim to serve more clients than in previous years, attend nearly twice as many outreach events, staff a help desk at the Davidson County Courthouse for 100 days, and distribute 12,000 pieces of informational material that has been translated into six languages.