CITY OF PACIFICA
COUNCIL AGENDA SUMMARY REPORT
10/9/2023
1 SUBJECT:
Resolution to Approve a One-Time Donation to CORA (Community Overcoming Relationship Abuse) and Amend the FY 2023-24 Budget to Appropriate the Funds RECOMMENDED ACTION:
1. Adopt the attached resolution to approve a one-time donation of $10,000 to CORA (Community Overcoming Relationship Abuse) for SPEAK UP, a County-wide education and training pilot program in the City of Pacifica and amend the FY 2023-24 General Fund Budget to appropriate the funds.
2. Direct the City Manager to develop a process for City Council annual consideration of non-profit donations during the annual budget development process, and return to City Council to consider the process in late winter/early spring 2024 prior to FY2024-25 budget development.
STAFF CONTACT:
Maria Sarasua, Chief of Police
(650) 738-7310
[email protected]
BACKGROUND:
CORA is the only agency in San Mateo County solely dedicated to helping those affected by intimate partner abuse. CORA receives over 12,000 requests for services each year. CORA offers a range of programs and services, including:
1. 24-Hour, Multilingual Crisis Hotline which provides trained crisis counselors who assist with crisis intervention, safety planning, emotional support, access to emergency safe houses, and community referrals.
2. Emergency Response Program which is a partnership with all of San Mateo County’s law enforcement agencies to increase victim safety and help responding officers connect survivors with counselors.
3. Housing and Advocacy Program which operates the only safe houses in San Mateo County and can provide survivors with safe housing solutions and subsidies.
4. Family-Centered Adult and Child Mental Health Services which provides multi-lingual individual and family therapy.
5. Legal Services which operate a free Legal Line and provides legal advice, information, and referrals to community resources.
As a 501(c) (3) charitable, nonprofit organization, CORA’s revenue comes from government grants (71%), foundations (14%), and individual donations (13%).
Pacifica City Council 2
October 09, 2023
Following the tragic murder of a young wife and mother in September of 2022, CORA and the City of San Carlos launched a pilot program called SPEAK UP. The goal of the SPEAK UP Program is to provide a broad range of local businesses with the training and tools to identify the signs of domestic violence and strategies to support their clients in a safe and helpful way.
The Speak Up Program Pilot is rooted in the belief that when the community is informed and empowered to offer help, it is better prepared to reduce violence. The City of San Carlos has worked with CORA to devise a strategy to share the training with other cities in San Mateo County.
DISCUSSION
From July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023, the Pacifica Police Department responded to 224 domestic disputes resulting in 74 acts of reported domestic violence and 47 violations of domestic violence restraining orders. Often, incidents of domestic violence go unreported. The SPEAK UP Program would increase awareness about the indicators of domestic violence and empower community members to take constructive action to help reduce these incidents from occurring.
By signing on to be a SPEAK UP partner, the City of Pacifica will receive:
• 270 - 300 outreach touches (outreach to business and community partners including a collection of resource materials)
• 60 presentations, each 15 minutes long, offered in person or on zoom, with language access provided by CORA as needed
• Certificates to post that show the business or organization receiving the training is a part of SPEAK UP
• Two City employee presentations
• Acknowledgement of the City of Pacifica’s partnership on the CORA website, and the City of Pacifica will be named in public service announcements for County-wide messaging during Domestic Violence Awareness Month (DVAM) in October.
SPEAK UP is offered as a 3-month pilot program and efficacy will be evaluated by CORA. If the program is deemed successful and well-received by those receiving the training, the program may be continued in the future. However, the $10,000 contribution is for the pilot program, and the City will have the opportunity to renew participation.
It should be noted that the City has separately allocated $6400 per year to CORA for fiscal year 2023-24. This fee was agreed upon in an MOU with the San Mateo County Police Chiefs and Sheriff Association. This funding supports emergency shelter for City of Pacifica residents who have experienced domestic violence. The emergency shelter program and funding are separate from what SPEAK UP offers.
The Council’s consideration of this one-time donation also raises the important topic of how and when the City Council should be considering annual donations to any non-profits or other organizations. This CORA donation request has come up after the Council adopted the FY2023-24 budget. Typically, many cities utilize the best practice of considering and allocating funding to non-profits or other agencies that provide services to the community during the annual budget development process. Such a process typically entails an application process in which non-profits wanting to request funding would submit their funding request, along with Pacifica City Council 3
October 09, 2023
program and performance information and agency financials, and the City Council deliberates about how they’d like to distribute the City’s limited funding for non-profits (an amount to be identified by the Council in the context of the City’s overall revenue constraints).
Therefore, the City Manager recommends the Council direct him to develop a process for City Council annual consideration of non-profit donations during the annual budget development process, and return to City Council to consider the process in late winter/early spring prior to FY2024-25 budget development.
FISCAL IMPACT
This one-time participation in the three-month long SPEAK UP pilot program costs $10,000 and these funds will need to be appropriated from the General Fund unallocated fund balance.
Mayor Bigstyck has individually undertaken an effort to inquire with non-profit organizations in Pacifica who may wish to donate on behalf of the City to help bring the SPEAK UP program to Pacifica. While he has received some interest, no donations are confirmed at this time.
However, he intends to continue to make this request. Staff will record any future donations received for this purpose, and these donation funds will either reduce the City’s net fiscal impact or allow to continue the program beyond the initial pilot timeframe. Any necessary budget adjustments will be made at the mid-year budget review.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION:
Council may choose not to approve the resolution approving a one-time $10,000 contribution to the Community Overcoming Relationship Abuse non-profit (CORA) to offer SPEAK UP and provide staff further direction.
RELATION TO CITY COUNCIL GOALS AND WORK PLAN:
Approval of the resolution aligns with the City’s Strategic Planning Goal #5 - Broaden Public Communications and Collaboration.
ORIGINATED BY:
Police
ATTACHMENT LIST:
Attachment A: SPEAK UP Campaign Briefing Sheet (PDF)
Pacifica City Council 4
October 09, 2023
RESOLUTION NO. ______
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PACIFICA AUTHORIZING THE APPROPRIATION OF A ONE-TIME GRANT OF $10,000 TO CORA (COMMUNITY
OVERCOMING RELATIONSHIP ABUSE) TO FUND SPEAK UP PROGRAM WHEREAS, Community Overcoming Relationship Abuse (CORA) is the only agency in San Mateo County solely dedicated to helping those affected by intimate partner abuse; and WHEREAS, CORA offers a range of programs and services, including a 24-hour, multilingual crisis hotline, an emergency response program, a housing and advocacy program, family-centered adult and child mental health services, and legal services; and WHEREAS, as a 501(c) (3) charitable, nonprofit organization, 71%, 14%, and 13% of CORA’s revenue comes from government grants, foundations, and individual donations, respectively; and
WHEREAS, the September 8, 2022 murder of Karina Castro, a 27-year-old San Carlos resident and mother of two young children, allegedly by her estranged boyfriend, has raised the community’s consciousness about the prevalence and risks of domestic violence throughout the San Mateo County; and
WHEREAS, at its October 9, 2023 City Council meeting, Mayor Tygarjas Bigstyck presented a proclamation to a CORA representative, designating October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month; and
WHEREAS, CORA has submitted a proposal to the City for one-time funding in the amount of $10,000 to develop and implement the SPEAK UP Pilot Program to provide a broad spectrum of Pacifica businesses with the training and tools needed to identify the signs of domestic violence among their employees and staff in order to provide support to these individuals in a safe and helpful way; and
WHEREAS, the Speak Up Community Education Program Pilot is rooted in the belief that when the community is informed and empowered to offer help, it is better prepared to reduce violence.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Pacifica City Council hereby approves a one-time grant of $10,000 to fund CORA for its Speak Up pilot program in the City of Pacifica.
It is further resolved that the City Council amends the FY 2023-24 General Fund Budget to appropriate these funds from the unappropriated General Fund balance. • • • • •
Pacifica City Council 5
October 09, 2023
PASSED AND ADOPTED at a regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Pacifica, California, held on the 9th day of October 2023, by the following vote:
AYES, Councilmembers:
NOES, Councilmembers:
ABSENT, Councilmembers:
ABSTAIN, Councilmembers:
_________________________________
Tygarjas Twyrls Bigstyck, Mayor
ATTEST: APPROVED AS TO FORM:
______________________________ _________________________________ Sarah Coffey, City Clerk Michelle Kenyon, City Attorney