Covington is likely to begin talks soon with a consultant to perform a management audit of the Emergency Shelter of Northern Kentucky.
That’s what was suggested, at least, during discussion Tuesday in the Covington City Board of Commissioners meeting.
Mayor Joe Meyer had broached the idea of a management audit in February, but the city took no official action on the matter.
“I will say flat out we’re not trying to close the shelter and get rid of it,” Meyer said. “We’re trying to improve the management of the shelter. So, I’ve talked with a highly accredited expert consult on emergency shelters, and they’re willing for a fee of considerably less than $20,000 to conduct a management audit or to work with us and them on improving their management techniques. And that money would be payable from federal funds if we choose to go that way.”
Meyer declined to share the consultant’s identity as the city had not yet engaged in business discussions with the organization.
The Emergency Shelter of Northern Kentucky, located on 13th Street in Covington’s Westside neighborhood, is one of the region’s most well-known homelessness service providers. It offers 68 beds for emergency overnight stays between November and March, and many in the community still refer to the organization as ‘the cold shelter,’ even though it offers services year-round. Other services the shelter offers include an on-site medical clinic and a work program for men during the summer months.
Representatives from the shelter did not attend Tuesday’s meeting.
Complaints from neighbors and former employees of the shelter date back to last year, and the mayor reiterated many of the complaints at the meeting, namely concerns about neighborhood safety and worker security. Meyer also argued that expenses for EMS runs to the shelter were greater than other service providers in the city and, thus, the audit was necessary to ensure the shelter wasn’t relying on public services as a means of sidestepping their own shortcomings.
“Our interest in the shelter’s management is number one to reduce the reliance on city services,” Meyer said. “They should have the staff to provide their own security and their own healthcare. Secondly, they should have policies and procedures for dealing with [homeless people] experiencing mental breakdowns. We need to get into the quality of their staff training; issues have been raised about that. Questions have been raised about their staffing patterns, whether it’s adequate for the number of folks who are there. And, finally, staff security issues.”
Commissioner Ron Washington said he would support the idea of the city manager looking into the matter, and Commissioner Tim Downing said he would like to see what a data analysis of the situation would yield.
City Manager Ken Smith said he would reach out to the shelter. No official action on the matter took place at the meeting.