Dutchess County Comptroller Releases Special Report on County’s Approaches to Sheltering the Homeless

Provides fiscal update on 26 Oakley Street project in the City of Poughkeepsie

The Dutchess County Comptroller’s Office has completed a special report detailing the County’s efforts to develop sheltering solutions for its homeless population between 2019 and 2024. During this period, Dutchess County provided shelter to the homeless through independently-operated shelters, motels, and temporary structures. The Comptroller’s Office has provided a timeline for taxpayers pertaining to local sheltering solutions with their associated costs.

According to a 2025 report from the Office of the State Comptroller, Dutchess County experienced an overall 11% increase of homelessness between 2022 and 2024. Within this period, homelessness among individuals under 18 increased by 30%, and homelessness among families rose by 40%. At the end of 2024, the homeless population was 705 people.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, former County Executive Marcus Molinaro’s announced that temporary housing facilities (known as the PODs) previously used for overflow inmates from the Dutchess County Jail would now be used to shelter the homeless. Since then, the County pursued a variety of permanent sheltering solutions, including the 2022 purchase of 26 Oakley Street in the City of Poughkeepsie for $2.1 million, and for which the County was awarded a $13 million Homeless Housing and Assistance (HHAP) grant. In 2024, Dutchess County spent $8,340,232 on temporary shelter expenditures, including motel costs.

As with previous reporting, the Comptroller’s Office observed a notable lack of due diligence prior to the purchase of a large, expensive property for what would be a long-term, costly project. The Comptroller’s Office strongly recommends that the County develop a formal policy for property acquisition, including a substantive cost analysis of potential properties that are presented to the Legislature for public review and comment.

“It is in the best interest of us all to adequately address the needs of our community’s homeless,” said Comptroller Aymar-Blair, “and in pursuit of this admirable and necessary goal it is imperative that County government do so with the same kind of careful planning afforded in the pursuit of any public project.”

The ‘Sheltering the Homeless in Dutchess County’ Special Report can be found on the Comptroller’s website.