With an eye on rising expenses in a tight budget year, Dakota County is reexamining the housing subsidies it makes available for families and disabled adults facing homelessness.

The subsidies, based on income and rent or mortgage payments, aim to keep people in stable living situations and out of shelters. Many recipients are on waiting lists, some spanning 18 months to three years, for federal Section 8 housing.

The talks of change come as demand for housing help is increasing. The county's homeless population, 478 people as of January, has increased 32 percent since 2007. And that doesn't count the 162 households, comprising 319 people, who are doubled up with others or couch hopping without permanent homes.

County spending on housing subsidies -- drawn from property taxes -- increased from $500,000 in 2005 to $991,000 in 2008.

"We know we can't sustain that," said Patrick Coyne, the county's social services director.

Just what the county can sustain will be discussed in September when commissioners consider policy changes including possible limits on the number of people in the program or the amount of money each can receive. That gives commissioners time to digest a report presented Tuesday that outlines the county's homeless population and compares the Dakota County options to others around the area.

The report didn't sit particularly well with the county board.

Commissioner Liz Workman, touching on Dakota County's reputation for having outstanding social service programs, questioned whether the county was a magnet for people seeking help.

"Are they new?" Workman asked, later adding, "I just have a problem with that number. I don't know who they are."

Staff members explained that many of the homeless people in Dakota County are people who have precarious housing situations -- maybe kicked out by a family member or couch hopping -- not the street-dwelling homeless people seen in more urban areas.

Dakota County started offering the subsidies in 1997 to families and disabled adults facing homelessness. Only four metro counties -- the others are Hennepin, Ramsey and Carver -- provide money drawn from tax levies for emergency housing assistance.

The idea is to give people a more stable home, instead of moving them around, and to avoid costly shelter expenses. For example, a three-bedroom apartment costs about $1,134 a month, whereas the expense per person in a shelter is $1,272.

But Dakota is the only county that offers an ongoing program, meaning there is no limit to the number of months a client can draw on the subsidy. The average client gets a $700 to $800 housing subsidy for six months.

"This alarms me," Commissioner Paul Krause said.

He questioned why the county dedicated levy funds for this purpose, especially when the county and constituent budgets are tight in a recession. The cost per taxpayer for the program in 2008 was about $2.55.

"Why do our constituents have to pay their dollars for someone else to make a living?" Krause said.

Katie Humphrey • 952-882-9056