Inner City Action — the faith-based non-profit that has played a critical role in helping Manteca get dozens and dozens of homeless off the streets on a yearly basis — has given the city notice it plans to

Interim City Manager Toni Lundgren indicated Inner City Action has been asked if they could stay until the end of August.

The city, when the non-profit exercised its option to give notice last week, started scrambling for another organization to take over running an emergency homeless shelter in the parking lot of the former Qualex building at 555 Industrial Park Drive.

Lundgren said at least one organization has expressed interest.

The City Council in early June entered into a new 12-month agreement with Inner City Action to continue operating the current emergency shelter in the tent at 555 Industrial Park Drive through June 30, 2022.

The  $777,618 contract at the time it was adopted was expected to impact general fund revenue to the tune of $663,862 to continue to operate the emergency center. The remaining $113,756 will come from two federal pass through block grants aimed at serve low-income residents.

Staff has indicated they will keep looking for grant opportunities to supplant the general fund monies.

The city is targeting the annual block grant as well as other state and federal funding sources to pay for ongoing operating expenses.

If the city is unable to do so, the nearly $800,000 annual expense will need to continue to come form the general fund in future years.

Since December 2019 the city has spent $953,361 on the emergency shelter. Of that $307,872 came from the general fund. The rest was from pass through funds or COVID related grants.

Manteca is also in the hunt for someone to oversee the city’s efforts with the homeless as well as the pursuit of affordable housing.

The housing and homeless services manager has a salary range of $112,896 to $137,332 annually.

The new housing and homeless services manager would allow one person in administration to be dedicated to both issues.

The city — between contracted services for day-to-day homeless programs through the emergency shelter as well as the one dedicated police officer to address homeless issues — is spending just over $1 million annually.

The figure is higher once park department costs of daily cleaning where homeless spend the night such as on the sidewalk in front of the library as well as service calls for police and fire response are factored into the equation.

For years, elected officials have agreed it made sense to have a dedicated position. Not only is the rationale it will help to move homeless initiatives forward in a timelier manner but it will also free up city manager analysts’ time that at one point was taking up 25 percent of the person’s time.

In doing so, there are other tasks for community projects that don’t involve the homeless that can be tackled.

In the past, however, they didn’t think the city was in a position where it could afford to do so.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com