Agenda Item C.2
DISCUSSION/ACTION ITEM
Meeting Date: October 17, 2023
TO: Mayor and Councilmembers
FROM: Robert Nisbet, City Manager
CONTACT: Kristy Schmidt, Assistant City Manager
SUBJECT: New Human Services Standing Subcommittee
RECOMMENDATION:
Finalize direction to staff on the development of a new Human Services standing subcommittee of the City Council.
BACKGROUND:
On August 15, 2023, the City Council heard a req uest from Councilmember Kasdin to create a new subcommittee. Following discussion by the City Council, staff committed to return to the Council with recommendations for the role of a new committee and for further discussion.
DISCUSSION:
Staff have the following recommendations:
Name: The name of the standing committee would be the Human Services Standing Committee (or Human Services Committee).
Scope: The Human Services Committee would focus itself on those programs, services and activities that care for and support sensitive or vulnerable populations in Goleta. This would include services for children, youth, seniors, people who are economically disadvantaged, non -English speakers, recent immigrants (including those without documentation), people with disabilities and serious health conditions , and people with mental health and drug and alcohol issues, for example.
The City does not directly provide social services, and the recommendation is not to begin doing so. The Human Services Committee would advise the full City Council on the City’s role as a coordinator, collaborator, facilitator, and funder for support systems that help people through economic and personal crises and provide sensitive and vulnerable populations in Goleta with opportunities to succeed. It would amplify, but not replace, those 1 Meeting Date: October 17, 2023
programs provided by community resources such as non - profit organizations, other government entities, and faith -based programs. As discussed below, the Committee would review grant applications and recommend Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) grant allocations benefitting low- and moderate- income areas, as well as the City Grant categories of Educational Programs, Services for Seniors, Food/Nutrition, and Youth Services.
The Human Services C ommittee could focus on intervention and enrichment activities including education programs, after -school programs, childcare programs, senior programs, healthcare access programs, food security programs, equitable access to technology programs (e.g., community broadband), employment and job skills programs, mental health and substance abuse programs, affordable transportation programs , and safe neighborhood programs, to name a few.
Potential Crossover with other Committees and Commissions:
Staff recommends that Council consider its existing subcommittees , commissions, and emerging priorities and how to distribute responsibilities among different bodies. This will help avoid confusion over jurisdiction , avoid Brown Act issues , and potentially mitigate impacts on staff workload. For example:
Homelessness Issues Standing Committee : Per the perceived consensus of Council at its meeting on August 15, 2023, staff recommend that the new Human Services Committee not have responsibility for developing advice on services for homeless populations and other matter s within the jurisdiction of the existing Homelessness Issues Standing Committee. These include Homelessness Strategic Plan implementation measures, provision of housing or shelter, use of City facilities or property for homeless services or housing, provision of services or funding for the homeless, and participation in regional meetings on homelessness. Grants Funding Review Standing Committee: The Grant Funding Review Standing Committee (Grants Funding Committee) is a Council subcommittee, which also includes two members of the public, that was initially formed to serve in a centralized advisory capacity to the City Council to investigate, consider, evaluate and advise City Council on matters relating to grant funding opportunities, including but not limited to CDBG1 funding and Goleta City Grant funding.
Recently, Council has decentralized and distributed City grantmaking recommendation responsibility among this group, the Homelessness Issues Standing Committee (Homelessness Committee), and the Parks and Recreation Commission. With the creation of the new Human Services Committee, staff recommend continuing with this decentralized model, as shown in the following table, and dissolving the Grants Funding Committee.
1 CDBG funding includes public services activities (for social services to non-profits) and funding for capital improvement projects (public facilities, improvements, and infrastructure) serving low-moderate income persons and areas in the City.
2 Meeting Date: October 17, 2023
Grant Category 2023
Committee
Grants
Amount
Future
Committees
Educational Programs Grants $25,000 Human Svc
Community Engagement Grants $25,000 Econ Dev
The Arts Grants $25,000 Econ Dev
Services for Seniors Grants $25,000 Human Svc
Food/Nutrition Grants $25,000 Human Svc
Youth Services Grants $25,000 Human Svc
Homeless Services/ Homelessness $25,000 Homelessness
Recreational Activities Parks & Rec $25,000 Parks & Rec Environmental/Wildlife/Animal
Programs
Parks & Rec $25,000 Parks & Rec
Miscellaneous Grants $25,000 Council
$250,000 Amount TBD
CDBG grant funding will go through the Human Services Committee, as those funds are specifically designated to benefit low - and moderate- income populations and align well with the scope of the Human Services Committee, as proposed.
Each year, staff would start the City Grants process as i t does now, by recommending an overall funding amount and the distribution between categories to the full Council. Staff would then refer grant applications to the various advisory committees/commissions to review and recommend allocation of funds for those categories, as it does now . Staff would then return to Council with the recommendations for funding from the advisory committees/commissions, and with a recommendation on the allocation of the “Miscellaneous” category funds. Multi- year support to other agencies funding would also be recommended to the full Council by staff.
The elimination of the Grant s Funding Committee will both be consistent with the direction of providing funding decision s to the focused subject matter advisory committees/commissions and help mitigate the burden on staff time and resources of the creation of the new committee. All of the advisory committees/commissions considering grant funding are Brown Act entities , subject to public noticing and public meetings, and can further encourage public participation in their grant funding deliberations through the City’s Community Relations division. The Parks and Recreation Commission : Parks and Recreation Commission ’s purpose is to advise the City Council on all issues related to public parks, open spaces, beaches, and indoor and outdoor recreational facilities and opportunities in Goleta. There would likely be some overlap between the interests of a new Human Services Committee and the Parks and Recreation Commission. To avoid confusion, Council should clearly distinguish which types of programs, activities and services would constitute recreation programming under the purview of the Parks and Recreation Commission . Staff recommend that these be those programs, 3 Meeting Date: October 17, 2023
activities and services involving indoor and outdoor leisure and physical activity that are geared toward the general wellbeing of residents.
Alternatively, the Council could fold matters related to recreation into the new human services committee and focus the Parks and Recreation commission specifically on the creation, improvement, long-range planning, and general use of public parks and open spaces.
Goleta Community Center: Community Center programming is an emerging priority with the recent adoption of a Goleta Community Center Strategic Plan. Not all programming at the Community Center will fall into the “recreation” umbrella; some of the programming might fall more under the umbrella of the new Human Services Committee. Therefore, staff recommends that Council clearly delegate the development of all programs and activities occurring inside the Community Center (a “recreational facility”) to the Parks and Recreation Commission’s advisory role.
Alternatively, Community Center programming could be more appropriate for the proposed new Human Services Committee, given the Community Center’s historical focus on community welfare programming.
Childcare: Childcare is another emerging priority , as this year Council dedicated significant funding toward a Childcare Initiative, currently under development.
Presumably, this new Human Services C ommittee would serve as the advisory committee for childcare issues, but Council may wish to affirmatively designate this responsibility and oversight of this funding to this new committee. Alternatively, there was some discussion of assigning childcare is sues to the Economic Development and Revitalization Standing Committee ( Economic Development Committee).
Library Advisory Commission: The Library Advisory Commission advises staff and the City Council on matters affecting the Goleta Valley Library (Library), representing the interests of the Library’s patrons by recommending programming and services for the Library. There would definitely be some overlap between the interests of a new Human Services Committee and the Library, so Council should clearly reserve jurisdiction over programs occurring at the Library to the Library Advisory Commission.
Decision-Making Guide
Based on Council’s disc ussion at the August 15, 2023 , meeting, staff recommend that Council provide guidance on the following decision-making points:
1. Approve the creation of a Human Services Standing Committee of the City Council (Human Services Committee).
2. Approve the proposed Human Services Committee scope. 4 Meeting Date: October 17, 2023
3. Approve the dissolution of the Grants Funding Standing Committee and t he reassignment of category grant advisory responsibility to the Human Services Committee and Economic Development Committee, as recommended.
4. Clarify that programs, activities and services involving indoor and outdoor leisure and physical activity that are geared toward the general wellbeing of residents will remain with the Parks and Recreation Commission’s advisory role.
5. Clarify that all programs and activities occurring inside the Community Center (a "recreational facility") will remain with the Parks and Recreation Commission's advisory role.
6. Clarify that the new Human Services Committee will have the advisory jurisdiction for childcare issues.
7. Clarify that the Library Advisory Commission will have jurisdiction over programs occurring at the Library.
After receiving this guidance, staff will return to Council to officially create the committee and for approval of the Mayoral appointment of two members, as well as to formally dissolve the Grants Funding Committee.
FISCAL IMPACTS:
Committees, whether they are standing or ad hoc, require staff time and City resources to coordinate and support. Standing committees are a bit more labor intensive in that they trigger Brown Act compliance (i.e., agendas must be posted). With the elimination of the Grant Funding Committee, staff believe there will be a neutral impact on staffing.
ALTERNATIVES:
Council could decline to create a new subcommittee, provide direction different than the recommendations, table the discussion for a future time, or provide other direction to staff.
Reviewed By: Legal Review By: Approved By:
___________________ ___________________ _________________ Kristine Schmidt Megan Garibaldi Robert Nisbet
Assistant City Manager City Attorney City Manager
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