Brittany Kelley
SAN MARCOS — The Hays County Commissioners Court unanimously voted to approve a one-time funding of $100,000 to assist the Southside Community Center with its Housing Stability Program March 24.
The nonprofit, located in San Marcos, has been aiding the Hays County community for decades. According to a previous article by the Hays Free Press/News-Dispatch, the center is not a shelter; it is instead a resource for those who are struggling or unhoused, providing hygiene kits, laundry and shower services, a meal and more.
Commissioner Debbie Ingalsbe, who brought forward the item, noted that it has been made clear to her that Southside’s Housing Stability Program needs to continue.
She stated that she has worked with staff to identify funding for the project through the Tobacco Settlement Fund, as well as an additional $25,000 from The America Rescue Plan Act.
“I believe this program will help support individuals and families in maintaining safe and stable housing during difficult times. It also provides assistance and connects people with resources, helping prevent homelessness, which creates a healthier and more stable community. So, I’m asking the court for their consideration and allowing this funding to move forward,” said Ingalsbe.
Beginning discussion by sharing his concerns that are “more logistical than they are from a personal or moral standpoint,” was commissioner Walt Smith.
He stressed that there is a process for these social funds, which Southside is aware of and has participated in for years.
Smith’s concern stems from the fact that the nonprofit did not plan for the program during budget season. If the program is running as consistently as the court has heard, he said, then there should have been at least some anticipation that the budget allotted to it last fall would not have been enough.
“While I see the need or I see the purpose behind it, I have a really hard time whenever there’s a number of those social service programs that have been asking for that additional funding for the last eight years that have never gotten an increase and … they manage [their budget] to the extent they can,” said Smith. “I’m not saying that I won’t support this today, but … we have multiple dozens, if not hundreds [of organizations] that are dealing with [financial difficulty] and it did not automatically become the court's problem to meet their budget shortfall.”
Ingalsbe said that she understood, but that it is not uncommon and that the court has come to support other agencies in between budget seasons before.
If approved, Smith stated that he would like to have access to the data, which depicts how the program has been used by the community.
Hays County Judge Ruben Becerra praised Smith for asking the difficult questions and raising these concerns, sharing that he agrees that receiving data on why this funding is needed — whether there was a large influx in patrons needing the program — is important.
Commissioner Michelle Cohen stated that the county hasn’t come up with a way to accurately measure the benefit that the county is receiving in return for their donations. Despite this, she did note how useful Southside is and that the county is “guilty” of using its facility for warming and cooling centers, so she feels as though the county should take some responsibility.
As far as ability to recognize impact, county administrator Kandice Bouetté said that staff has worked to revise the evaluation for what is required for organizations that accept donations for fiscal year 2026-27. The court is requiring organizations to show their actual impact quarterly, such as the amount of people they’ve been able to service, the activities that have occurred and if there are any additional gaps that they see. Although this is a plan for the upcoming fiscal year, it is currently being implemented. There was a public meeting available via webinar at 10 a.m. Wednesday, April 1, and an in-person session from 2-3 p.m. at the elections center the same day.
“If it takes y’all a while to get up that donor base and be able to provide these galas and those types of things [that’s fine, but] I just want to see some suitability,” said commissioner Morgan Hammer. “There’s no doubt in my mind that Southside [does] do great work … [but] what is that plan? Do you have funding coming in from various sources?”
Hammer noted, after confirming with staff, that there is funding currently available for Southside, yet is unable to be released, due to lack of documentation from the nonprofit. So, it’s difficult “to give extra funds whenever there are funds available that y’all can take, but we’re just waiting on y’all. That’s where I’m having some difficulty.” However, Ingalsbe stated that this was a recent request, which is why the documents have not been submitted.
“We are not asking Hays County to come in and fund this program all by itself. We do not believe that you guys need to do that. As we’ve mentioned, we have a $250,000 challenge from the McCoy Foundation that has asked us to go out and get matching,” said Southside board president Todd Salmi, adding that the nonprofit will be meeting with another funding prospect and host a fundraising fair later that week.
He stated that several years ago, the organization wouldn’t have been as confident in sharing it numbers, but staff has worked to put together a series of detailed data on funding and looks forward to sharing it with the commissioners.
As far as what they can currently share, Salmi stated that 25% of its clients come from Kyle and Buda, but the organization has not been able to aid them.
According to Becerra, Southside typically receives $25,000 from the county, but with the additional funding, the total will amount to $175,000 — $25,000 initially, $25,000 waiting for release, $25,000 from ARPA and $100,000 from the Tobacco Settlement Fund — for this year.
“Just from a policy standpoint, a rising tide raises all ships and at the end of the day, we’ve got a lot of ships out there that have run aground just because of the need out there in our county for years and we haven’t been able to help them. I feel like we’re rebuilding your ship right now because it’s about to wreck. We can’t maintain it [perpetually]," concluded Smith, emphasizing that this is a one-time funding.
Hammer ended the discussion by noting that she would like to see where the money is going.
The item passed unanimously. To listen to the discussion, visit bit.ly/4uX6CBX.
