Fiscal Note
This Resolution authorizes the first steps in a change to the strategies and methods traditionally used by the Community Development Division to solicit (and fund) proposals from area nonprofits for the provision of various community support services. Any funding decisions that may result from the funding process modifications prescribed herein would be incorporated into the CDD’s 2016 Operating Budget submission. There is no fiscal impact for 2015.
Title
SUBSTITUTE Community Development Division Funding Process for the 2016 Budget
Body
Background
The City’s Community Development Division (CDD) allocates roughly $9 million annually in purchase of services (POS) contracts with various community agencies. These funds are derived from a combination of City tax levy, which constitutes the bulk of available dollars, and several federal and state sources, chief among them Community Development Block Grant Program funds. Collectively, the funds are intended for use in helping to address broad-based City goals primarily focused on strengthening neighborhoods, addressing issues associated with poverty and racial and social inequities, and otherwise helping to improve the quality of life for all City residents. Traditionally, the Division has allocated these funds biennially through competitive funding processes. In recent years, however, that schedule has been somewhat disrupted.
In 2014, the Mayor and Common Council requested an evaluation of the Division’s funding processes and appropriated funds for this purpose. Following an open competitive process, Forward Community Investments (FCI) was selected to undertake the evaluation. Work on the effort commenced in the summer of 2014.
In the first, “Discovery” phase of the evaluation, FCI held community conversations with identified stakeholders to inform issue identification and gather input for potential process improvements. FCI published a report in November 2014 summarizing these conversation...
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