GovOps Committee recommends ambulance policy update, reviews housing and funding requests

The Government Operations Committee reviewed an update to the city's Emergency Medical Services Transport Plan to comply with new state laws and received a status update on the Built for Zero homelessness initiative from Maine Housing. The committee also addressed several out-of-cycle funding requests from local nonprofits, including the Together Place, MANA Ministries, and Teresa's Place, with a motion to match county funds for the Together Place passing the committee.

Key points

• The committee voted to recommend the updated ambulance transport policy to full council, which clarifies the Fire Department's role and allows the chief to determine frontline staffing levels.
• Maine Housing officials explained the coordinated entry system and noted that Hub 7 has achieved quality data status, capturing at least 90% of the homeless population in the region.
• Councillor Carolyn Fish raised concerns that the coordinated entry scoring system may disadvantage elderly residents who are at risk of homelessness but do not have high acuity scores.
• The committee voted 3-1 to recommend that the city match $7,000 in opioid settlement funds to help the Together Place reopen its services, with Councillor Wayne Mallar voting no due to concerns about county matching requirements.
• The committee postponed a decision on larger funding requests from Teresa's Place and other organizations to allow for a strategic review of how to allocate the remaining $250,000 in opioid settlement funds.
• Councillor Susan Hawes expressed concern that Bangor is bearing a disproportionate burden of homelessness compared to other regions and requested more state engagement and resource distribution.

Next steps

• City staff will search for approximately $20,000 in available funds to address the immediate needs of MANA Ministries and The Well warming center.
• City staff will return to the committee in October with proposals for a process to allocate the remaining opioid settlement funds, including mechanisms for public input.
• The committee will revisit the funding request from Teresa's Place at a future meeting after gathering more information and potentially touring the facility.

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