City and county elected officials voted unanimously this week to dedicate $100,000 to extend hotel stays for people displaced from the Budgetel Inn last month.
Hamilton County commissioners approved their allocation of up to $50,000 at a Wednesday meeting, on the condition that the city's half of the money be spent first. County money, according to the resolution passed Wednesday, would then be used as needed after that.
(READ MORE: Chattanooga City Council approves $50,000 for displaced Budgetel motel guests)
The Chattanooga Regional Homeless Coalition has paid for more than 100 hotel rooms for roughly 270 people displaced when the East Ridge motel closed with less than a day's notice on Nov. 16. Law enforcement officials were concerned about crime there.
The coalition extended hotel stays another week, it said Tuesday in a post on Facebook, but is rapidly running out of money to keep people housed. Hotel stays are costing around $65,000 every two weeks, according to a presentation given to county and city officials.
Chattanooga City Council members approved their $50,000 resolution during a Tuesday night meeting. While the city already funds the homeless coalition, the county does not, coalition spokesperson Mackenzie Kelly told the Chattanooga Times Free Press last week.
Several commissioners Wednesday cited the upcoming Christmas holidays as extra incentive to keep people housed in the short term.
"We're just triaging the system through the holidays to allow for replacement," Commissioner David Sharpe, D-Red Bank, said during the meeting.
The motel was closed after District Attorney Coty Wamp filed a motion calling the property a nuisance that demanded a disproportionately high amount of first responders' time in East Ridge. The motion also noted four known sex offenders were living at the motel, in close proximity to children.
"She (Coty Wamp) was right on target," Commissioner Warren Mackey, D-Lake Vista said. "She was doing her job. She has taken an oath to uphold the law. And yeah, it is Christmastime, but the law is the law."
(READ MORE: Hamilton County judge says rooms are 'substandard' at Budgetel motel in East Ridge)
Around half of those displaced from the Budgetel lost their jobs as a result, said Sam Wolfe, director of Chattanooga's Office of Homelessness and Supportive Housing, during Wednesday's meeting. Of those who didn't lose jobs, around 40% reportedly saw a reduction in work or hours, Wolfe said.
The coalition estimates it will cost around $400,000 to keep paying for hotels during the next three months while displaced people and families apply for and are placed in longer-term housing. As more are placed, coalition director Mike Smith said, hotel costs will go down as well.
Several elected officials, at both the city and county levels, wondered why the city of East Ridge was not involved in the response to the motel's closure and has not contributed money to those displaced.
Commissioner Mike Chauncey, R-East Ridge, who has also sat on the East Ridge City Council for four years, said the city was not approached about funding for Budgetel guests.
Contact Ellen Gerst at egerst@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6319. Follow her on Twitter @ellengerst.