New homeless center operators already under
fire
The rumblings began when Broward's new homeless center threw a lavishchampagne and sushi party at its ribbon-cutting.
They intensified when county commissioners learned the center's operators had failed to make payments on a $2.3 million construction loan -- despite having $1.4 million in the bank.
Now, just two months after opening its Homeless Assistance Center at 920NW Seventh Ave., in Fort Lauderdale, Broward County wants to jettison the group that runs it.
For county officials, the catalyst for the break was a request by the Broward Partnership for the Homeless for a $4.1 million operating budget -- a number county staff felt was way out of line.
``We believe we can attract a provider who can offer services as well as or better than this group does at a substantially reduced cost, and I am asking for
that opportunity,'' said Angelo Castillo, Broward's human services director.
Castillo's request, to be considered Tuesday is outlined in a five-page memo to the commission as part of staff's response to an audit of the 200-bed center.
The audit was requested by the commission after learning that the center's loan from the county was in default. It didn't find any irregularities with the center's finances but urged that the commission keep tighter reins on the new center.
Partnership officials were shocked by Castillo's recommendation, saying the memo was replete with inaccuracies and misrepresentations.
``The whole thing is absurd. I don't understand. I'm just dumbfounded by the whole process and the way he operates,'' said Elliot Borkson, vice chairman of the partnership. ``I believe he has tried to paint us in a very bad light, and there
is no justification for that.''
Borkson said the partnership has been trying to work things out with the county.
It offered to repay $250,000 on the loan immediately and the rest over time. At present, the group is $592,459 in arrears on the loan.
As for the $1 million-plus the partnership has in the bank, much of it is needed to keep the center operating, Borkson said.
Although the partnership had agreed to raise up to 50 percent of the center's operating cost through fund-raising, it wasn't supposed to happen the first year, Borkson said.
``That's not realistic,'' he said.
After the county objected, the partnership lopped $1 million off its budget request.
The county thinks the new amount -- $3.1 million -- is still too much.
``I can't give $3 million to any group. That is half my budget,'' Castillo said. ``I really think there is an opportunity here to substantially reduce cost. We are not looking to be cheap; we are looking to be frugal. Their budget is excessive
and continues to be excessive.''
The county has taken issue with the partnership's salary scale and the size of its administrative staff. For instance, the executive director of the nonprofit partnership makes $90,000 a year.
Borkson doesn't believe the staff is top heavy, noting that staffers were offered smaller salaries than many of the staffers earned at their prior jobs.
At least one commissioner said Wednesday that he will seriously consider the request to seek a new operator.
``I think it's probably prudent on our part to go and research the market and see if it can be done more cost effectively,'' said Commissioner John Rodstrom. ``It will help us in evaluating if we are getting the biggest bang for our buck.''
Some homeless advocates said that a bed at the Sunrise Boulevard facility costs considerably more than the national average of around $16.
``It is without a doubt one of the most expensive shelters I've ever heard of,'' said Laura Carey, executive director of the Broward Coalition for the Homeless, which helps homeless people obtain social services. ``The thing is we've got 5,000 homeless people and 500 beds, and we need to stretch our dollars and get the most beds per dollar.''
Even some residents have their doubts. `It's a four-star Tent City,'' said Richard Courtney, who has lived at the center for about a week. Courtney said that while he has no complaints with the accommodations, he would like some programs to help him toward self-sufficiency.
But the center never planned to open with a complete complement of programs. Ten weeks after it opened, services are still being added and changes made.
In the brief time that the center has been open, the staff has made numerous improvements and done an impressive job, said Fred Scarbrough, lay pastor of the Shepherd's Way and a county homeless advocate.
``Whoever was running that HAC the first year of its operation was asking for a lot of trouble,'' Scarbrough said. ``I think too much was expected out of one facility, and the people that are running it are trying to do their best.''
Published Friday, April 16, 1999, in the Miami Herald
New management proposed for county homeless shelter
JACQUELINE CHARLES and SHARI RUDAVSKY
Herald Staff Writers