City Council Memorandum
TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL DATE: NOVEMBER 19, 2024 FROM: OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER WARDS: ALL
SUBJECT: A RESOLUTION GRANTING THE CITY MANAGER CERTAIN POST-AWARD AUTHORITIES TO ENSURE THE EFFECTIVE AND EFFICIENT ADMINISTRATION OF COMPETITIVE GRANTS AND EARMARK FUNDING AWARDS RECEIVED BY THE CITY ISSUE:
Consideration of a Resolution granting the City Manager certain post-award authorities to ensure the effective and efficient administration of competitive grants and earmark funding awards received by the City.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
That the City Council adopt a Resolution (Exhibit A) authorizing the City Manager or designee certain post award authorities needed to ensure the effective and efficient administration of external grants and federal/State awards received by the City of Riverside.
BACKGROUND:
The role of grants in municipal service provision in the City of Riverside cannot be overstated. At any time, there are approximately 200+ active grants (from all years) funding projects and programs for City residents. The City is a robust grant writing operation, and submits specialized grants across departments from small sums to multimillion-dollar applications. The goal of the City’s grant program is to secure funding for services and projects for which the City otherwise would be required to utilize local tax dollars. In calendar year 2023, the City had a record year in 2023; receiving over $200 Million in competitive grants and earmarks. The complexities of managing multiple awards across City departments means that the City Manager must make administrative decisions to ensure that external funding is appropriately expended by City staff, with the goals of maintaining good grantee/grantor relationships and obtaining future funding.
DISCUSSION:
With all grants, staff seeks City Council approval to receive funds, discuss match, establish accounts, execute contracts, and to seek funding appropriations as necessary. These Council approvals are sought either before a grant application is submitted (with larger funding applications) or after an award is made to the City.
In administering grants in a post-award implementation phase, the City must occasionally realign project deliverables in order to be successful in meeting the objectives of a funded grant proposal. Grant proposals are an informed estimate of what can be accomplished with external funding, but real-time impediments in labor, materials, permitting, and other external factors (e.g., supply chain weaknesses) may require that the City work with its grantors to establish new timelines and outcomes. This may mean modifying contractual timelines, making budgetary amendments, and/or changing a project scope as-necessary. If a change must be made to an externally funded project, the City works closely with its grantors. The resolution presented here would give the City Manager the ability to make certain post-award contractual and administrative decisions, in concert with the City Attorney and City Clerk, to ensure the smooth functioning of externally funded projects. If a funding question is deemed to be beyond the administrative level, staff would return to the City Council for guidance.
The City has made great progress to improve its internal grant operations and overall performance. This has meant making new tools available to departments that want to write grants, streamlining processes in order to manage and ensure that more funding applications are filed, and modernizing administrative rules to ensure that the City Council has appropriate information regarding the City’s overall grant and external funding performance.
City staff continues to be committed to continuing strategic work to compete strategically for grants that fund the needs of Riverside’s diverse communities, while also supporting partner agencies on applications with shared regional benefits.
STRATEGIC PLAN ALIGNMENT:
This item aligns the Envision Riverside 2025 Strategic Plan as providing, “High Performing Government,” especially Goal 5.4 to maintain fiscal health by addressing gaps between revenues and expenditures.
This report also aligns with the five cross-cutting threads:
Community Trust – Building grant capacity will serve the public interest by potentially expanding programs and completing projects with external funding; benefiting the City’s diverse populations, and resulting in greater public good.
Equity – Outside funding can be used to allow more City departments to be creative and competitive for grants, resulting in a more equitable distribution of funding opportunity that can reach populations citywide. In addition to grants supporting Citywide operations, City staff also seek grant funding to directly benefit disadvantaged communities and residents in need of aid.
Fiscal Responsibility – The City maximized outcomes in usage of grant funds as a way to lessen pressure on the General fund and other limited resources. These grants also help to leverage existing dollars committed to projects and programs.
Innovation – This funding provides the City with the ability to create an innovative program for building capacity with the result in receiving greater external funding.
Sustainability & Resiliency – Riverside builds capacity to allow more departments to apply for grants and compete for funding that allows the City to adaptively address resident needs.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no fiscal impact associated with this report. Specific grant applications and/or projects that require funding appropriations will be brought to the City Council separately for consideration on an as-needed basis.
Prepared by: Jeff McLaughlin, Grants Administrator
Certified as to
availability of funds: Kristie Thomas, Finance Director / Assistant Chief Financial Officer Approved by: Mike Futrell, City Manager
Approved as to form: Jack Liu, Interim City Attorney
Attachment: Exhibit A – Resolution
City Manager Post-Award Grant Authorities ● Page 8