Chipman bill would ease General Assistance burden on Portland taxpayers

A bill introduced by Sen. Ben Chipman, D-Portland, would ease the burden currently borne by Portland taxpayers who pay the cost of General Assistance to people experiencing homelessness who are from other cities and towns in southern Maine and staying in Portland shelters.

“Homelessness and hunger are statewide issues that General Assistance was established to address and the State of Maine should cover 100 percent of the cost of this program,” said Sen. Chipman. “Because cities and towns are required to pay 30 percent of the cost and about one third of homeless people in Portland come here directly from other parts of the state that do not provide shelters, it is important for these cities and towns to pay for the cost of General Assistance for their residents.”

The bill was the subject of a public hearing in the Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee on April 10.

General Assistance is a last-resort emergency form of assistance used to cover the cost of housing and other essential services for Maine families at immediate risk of destitution or homelessness. Under current law, a homeless person staying in a shelter is considered a resident of the town where the shelter is located. That determination results in residents of towns with homeless shelters, such as Portland, paying a disproportionate amount of the total statewide cost of General Assistance.

Sen. Chipman’s bill — LD 1109 “An Act To Improve General Assistance Reimbursements” — would change the residency determination process to consider where a person most recently lived before they were homeless.

“Simply because Portland residents and leaders have taken it upon themselves to provide shelter to those in need doesn’t mean Portland residents should shoulder the financial burden of providing assistance to people from all across the state,” said Sen. Chipman. “This bill will allow all cities and towns to be held responsible for the cost of their own residents while not turning anybody away who arrives in Portland from another part of the state and are in need of help.”

Portland operates both the state’s largest adult shelter and largest family shelter. Both are currently at maximum capacity. In March 2017, 34 percent of new intakes at the Oxford Street Shelter — people checking in for the first time — identified themselves as having resided somewhere other than Portland. For the year prior (March 2016 to March 2017) 33 percent of all individuals using the Oxford Street Shelter identified this way.

People experiencing homelessness “are often told that their municipality does not have a shelter and they are then provided information on what shelters are available,” said David MacLean, the Social Services Director for the City of Portland. “We know that most of the time all arrows point to Portland.”

LD 1109 faces further action in the Health and Human Services Committee and votes in the House and Senate.