CITY COUNCIL AGENDA ITEM
ACTION REQUESTED:
title
Approve the proposed CY2023 Social Services Grant funding allocations
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DEPARTMENT: Community Services
SUBMITTED BY: Shebnem Ozkaptan, Budget/Administrative Services Coordinator
BOARD/COMMISSION REVIEW:
N/A
BACKGROUND:
The City Council established a $250,000 Social Services Grant (SSG) program in 2005 to enhance the ability of local not-for-profit agencies to provide needed services to the community. In 2012, the Council increased funding to $300,000 to allow for a $50,000 set-aside for projects that target current specific community needs. Grant funding was increased to $500,000 in 2015, and remains today, using a portion of the Food and Beverage Tax funds.
Based on Council input from the Calendar Year 2022 process, as well as a follow-up meeting with Councilmembers Gustin and Leong in April, staff made the following changes to the 2023 application review process:
1. Increased the City Council allocation from $50,000 to $100,000
2. Removed low/mod income as a scoring criteria
3. Discarded the low and high scores for each application
4. Added a representative from D203 [D204 declined due to a conflict of interest]
5. Added a non-scoring councilmember [Councilwoman Gustin]
DISCUSSION:
The City received 38 requests totaling $1,340,901 for the CY2023 funding year. Of those, 27 projects had previously received SSG funding.
A team of City staff from the Community Services Department and representatives from the Human Rights and Fair Housing Commission, Senior Task Force, District 203, and Councilwoman Gustin reviewed the applications and allocated $400,000 in funds. This amount is reserved for agencies that provide services addressing one of the program's five general funding priorities listed below.
SSG Funding Priorities
1. Emergency Services
Emergency shelter, food and personal care items, and emergency assistance
2. Seniors
Respite care, meal delivery, home sharing, mental health counseling
3. Self-...
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