Title
Approval of Neighborhood Block Watch Oversight Committee's Recommendations for 2020 Grant Program Awards (Ordinance S-46547)
Description
Request authorization for the City Manager, or his designee, to approve the recommendations of the Neighborhood Block Watch Grant Program (NBWGP) Oversight Committee to increase the annual funding amount available for all grant applications from $1,500,000 to $1,509,747 beginning on July 1, 2020 and to execute contracts between the City of Phoenix and 180 NBWGP applicants. Authorization is requested for the City Controller to disburse funds related to this item in the amount of $1,509,747.
Report
Summary
The Neighborhood Block Watch (NBW) Oversight Committee was established to solicit, evaluate and recommend, to the Mayor and City Council, appropriate proposals to expend funds for the expansion of the Block Watch programs within the limits of the Neighborhood Protection Ordinance. This ordinance, known as Proposition 301, was adopted at a special election held on Oct. 5, 1993. The City Council adopted the format and guidelines for this process on April 26, 1994. The NBW program is administered by the Police Department.
On April 10, 2019, the annual funding amount available for all grant applications was increased from $1,400,000 to $1,500,000 for the 2019 grant program (Ordinance S-45622). The scoring of applications submitted for the 2020 grant cycle indicates the current amount available is insufficient to fund all of the grant applications with scores of 5.25 or higher.
The 2020 grant application process opened on Nov. 1, 2019 and closed on Dec. 6, 2019. The NBW Oversight Committee scored the grant applications based on the following criteria: crime prevention - 50 percent, budget evaluation - 20 percent, community involvement - 20 percent, and project viability/ability to complete - 10 percent.
A total of 184 grant applications were received. Of that total,180 are being recommended for funding by the NBW Oversight Committee for a total of $1,509,747. Four grant applications were not recommended for funding. Two grants scored below the program minimum requirement of 5.25 or higher out of 10 possible points and two grants were disqualified for being on the noncompliant list in previous grant years. The NBW Oversight Committee vote was 6 ayes, 3 nays, and 0 abstained on the funding list. See Attachment A for a list of all 184 grant applications.
In one case, an applicant was denied partial funding as a result of requesting capped and/or prohibited items. A list of the prohibited/restricted items was included in the 2020 grant application guide.
Contract Term
The funding period is July 1, 2020 through June 30, 2021.
Financial Impact
No matching funds are required.
Department
Responsible Department
This item is submitted by Assistant City Manager Milton Dohoney, Jr. and the Police Department on behalf of the Neighborhood Block Watch Oversight Committee.