The City Council directed staff at its Dec. 7, 2015, work session to put Resource Outreach Coordinator (ROC) funding for the Motivated Addictive Alternative Program (MAAP) on the Dec. 21, 2015, business session. MAAP is a program that addresses chronic, serial inebriation by offering addiction counseling as an alternative to citation to persons arrested for open container or alcohol-related trespass offenses throughout Billings.  Offenders who are cited five times in any 30-day period are offered treatment as an alternative to incarceration if convicted in Municipal Court. 

MAAP is a result of a Community Innovations initiative created in October 2014 by the Downtown Business Association (DBA), Rocky Mountain Native American Council, the Rimrock Foundation, Community Crisis Center, City of Billings and numerous other partners.  The group studied transiency and chronic addiction treatment models in several other communities, primarily San Diego's Serial Inebriate Program, before developing the MAAP model.  Business leaders and residents at the Dec. 7 work session reported improved conditions in downtown, and urged the Council to support the program.

Joel Simpson, the current ROC, has been providing both street intervention in cooperation with police officers and counseling services for about a year.  His position initially was funded by a $15,000 contribution from the Downtown Billing Association (DBA) and $35,000 from Rimrock Foundation as part of the Community Innovations initiative to address homelessness issues in downtown Billings.  Agencies that provide grants to such programs have asked the City of Billings to indicate its commitment to sustain MAAP by providing some funding for it.  After consultation with the DBA and Rimrock Foundation, City staff has recommended that the City contribute $25,000 to funding Mr. Simpson's position, with the remainder to come from the two agencies.

At the Dec. 7 work session, the Council expressed concern about displacement of chronic inebriates from downtown to the rest of the City as a result of the MAAP program, and suggested the City should fund an additional ROC at a cost of $50,000 to those who are displaced.  This would bring the total City contribution for Fiscal Year 2016 to $75,000.  City staff recommends that the Council contract with Rimrock Foundation for the position.
 

City Council may:

• Approve a $75,000 contribution from the Fiscal Year (FY) 2016 General Fund unbudgeted reserve to Rimrock Foundation to support the current Resource Outreach Coordinator (ROC) position, and add another ROC to assist the current Motivated Addiction Alternative Program (MAAP) and deal with those displaced to other parts of the City by MAAP; or
• Approve a $25,000 contribution from the FY 2016 General Fund unbudgeted reserve to Rimrock Foundation to support the current ROC, and direct staff to provide a supplemental budget request for FY 2017 to fund a second ROC; or
• Not approve any additional ROC funding, leaving the program costs to be sustained by the DBA and Rimrock Foundation.

The General Fund unbudgeted reserve balance currently is about $14 million, much of it accrued to provide support for Public Safety services through 2020.  The Motivated Addiction Alternative Program is reducing incidences of public intoxication, transiency and crime downtown and has the long-range potential to impact more than $8 million spent annually by public and private organizations in Billings to provide emergency services to those with chronic inebriation and mental health issues.

Staff recommends approval of $75,000 to support part of the existing Resources Outreach Coordinator's (ROC) position and to add a second  ROC position in Fiscal Year 2016, in part to provide services to persons displaced to other parts of the community.