The Home Fund levy will be on the February ballot. Now Olympia voters will decide.

The Olympia City Council unanimously voted Tuesday night to place a sales tax increase, intended to alleviate homelessness, on the February, 2018 ballot.

The Home Fund measure would increase Olympia’s sales tax by 0.1 percent, and would raise an estimated $2.3 million per year. The money would fund projects intended to move Olympia’s most vulnerable people off of the streets and into housing.

About 30 people attended Tuesday’s meeting to show their support for the Home Fund, wearing blue buttons and holding signs. Twelve of those supporters addressed the council during the public comment period.

Most of the speakers thanked the council for considering the measure, and thanked the Home Fund group for bringing the idea to the council. Others pointed out that the work is only half done — that voters still need to approve the measure next year.

“We need to pass it, but I feel we will,” said Paul Knox, the former executive director of the United Way of Thurston County who works with the Home Fund group.

Charles Shelan, also a Home Fund advocate, said the group’s ultimate goal is to end homelessness. He said the measure may not entirely accomplish that goal, but it’s a step in the right direction.

Councilwoman Jessica Bateman, who co-chairs the Home Fund group, said that the Home Fund will give the city tools to begin solving the problem of homelessness.

“It will give us the opportunity to address the actual problem head on,” Bateman said.

Under the city’s Home Fund plan, 65 percent of Home Fund revenue would go to increasing the housing supply. Twenty percent would go to operational costs and providing services — including mental health and addiction services. Seven percent would go to shelters, and 8 percent would go to implementation.

The Home Fund wouldn’t provide traditional low-income housing or affordable workforce housing, said Keith Stahley, the city’s director of community planning and development. Other services, such as daytime warming centers, could be paid for using the Home Fund because they’d be used to identify the people most in need of housing services.

Stahley said the city of Olympia wouldn’t be taking on the role of landlord or service provider if the Home Fund measure passes. Instead, entities would apply for home fund money through a competitive grant process.

This story was originally published October 25, 2017 at 5:22 PM with the headline "The Home Fund levy will be on the February ballot. Now Olympia voters will decide.."