DATE: June 28, 2022
TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: Acting Assistant City Manager
SUBJECT
Title
Community Agency Funding Process Review
End
RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
That the Council: 1. reviews and comments on this report; and 2. affirms the Community Services Commission’s Community Agency Funding modification recommendations.
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SUMMARY
Annually, the City receives applications from community agencies requesting funding through the competitive Community Agency Funding (CAF) process. The Community Services Commission (CSC) serves as an advisory body to the Hayward City Council and is responsible for reviewing the applications, interviewing applicants, and making recommendations to the Council for how a portion of the City’s General Fund and the City’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) entitlement award should be allocated. As part of the CAF process, the CSC Chair appoints three Application Review Committees (ARCs) to conduct applicant interviews and make preliminary recommendations for full CSC consideration.
The amount of funding requested from community agencies through the CAF process has steadily increased with FY 2023 representing the largest disparity between agencies’ funding requests and the amount of available funding. The CSC has expressed concern about how challenging the process has become to decide which agencies to fund. As a result, the CSC has requested support and direction from the Council to clarify Council’s funding priorities and to receive feedback on the CAF process. On October 26, 2021, Council authorized the Mayor to appoint three members of Council to form a sub-group to work with a committee of the Community Services Commission to review and discuss the CAF process.
The joint subcommittee met on three occasions to discuss the CAF process and provide recommendations to the CSC for further consideration. The CSC has reviewed and discussed the joint subcommittee’s recommendations and is providing the following recommendations for Council consideration:
Recommended Services Funding Caps:
• Utilize a cap for Services funding
o $100,000 for housing and homelessness, and
o $50,000 for other services
Recommended Funding Allocation for New and Innovative Programs:
• Include a priority for funding 20-30% of applications for new and innovative programs
Recommended Funding for Safety Net Programs:
• No single agency should receive guaranteed funding
• Staff will identify programs that support safety net services during the CAF process
Recommended Arts and Music Funding Guidelines:
• New Agencies may receive up to $30,000 in financial support for one year
• Signature Agencies, up to $25,000 for programs that have been funded 1-5 year(s).
• Classic Agencies, (+5 years) up to $20,000 in grant funding, not to exceed 60% of the total estimated program budget
Recommended Audit Requirements:
• Increase audit requirement threshold to $20,000
• Require agencies requesting less than $20,000 to provide a financial letter of good standing in place of partnering with a fiscal administrator
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment I Staff Report