Title
***REQUEST TO WITHDRAW (SEE ATTACHED MEMO)*** Approval of the Neighborhood Block Watch Oversight Committee's Recommendations for the 2025 Grant Program Awards (Ordinance S-51940) - Citywide
Description
This report requests the Public Safety and Justice Committee recommend City Council approval of the recommendations from the Neighborhood Block Watch Grant Program (NBWGP) Oversight Committee to fund 171 grant applications for the 2025 grant cycle. This report also includes an update on the gated alley and gated wash program support by Neighborhood Block Watch funds.
Report
Summary
The NBWGP 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 on October 5, 1993. The City Council adopted the format and guidelines for this process on April 26, 1994. The NBWGP program is administered by the Police Department.
The 2025 NBWGP grant application process opened on November 1, 2024 and closed on December 7, 2024. The NBWGP Oversight Committee scored the grant applications based on the following criteria: Crime Prevention/Quality of Life Factors for 50 percent, Budget Evaluation for 20 percent, Community Involvement for 20 percent, and Project Viability/Feasibility/Ability to Complete the Project for 10 percent.
A total of 177 grant applications were received. Of those evaluated, 171 applications are recommended for funding by the Oversight Committee totaling $2,154,111. Six applications are not recommended for funding. All six applications not recommended to receive funding scored below the minimum requirement of 5.25 out of ten (10) points for various reasons to include lack of neighborhood participation, lack of documentation or requesting items the grant does not cover.
On April 10, 2025, the Oversight Committee voted to fund 171 applicants. See Attachment A for a full list of the FY25 recommended grant applications.
The Oversight Committee also voted (8 in favor, 1 opposed, 0 in conflict, 0 abstained) to recommend to increase funding for the Neighborhood Block Watch Program from $2,000,000 to $2,154,111 annually. The program’s fund balance allows for the recommended increase.
Gated Alley Program Update
As a resident-driven initiative, the Gated Alley Program (GAP) significantly enhances neighborhood safety and quality of life. Demand for the program has increased from 15 requests per month to 25 or more per month over the past year. A recent review of Phoenix Police data showed a 15 percent reduction in calls for service overall, and an incredible 11.4 percent reduction in violent calls for service for properties adjacent to gated alleys over the year prior to gating.
In October 2024, City Council approved $3 million in Neighborhood Block Watch Program (NBWP) funds to support the GAP over two years. This allocation is funding approximately 250 alley segments, and recently helped Neighborhood Services Department (NSD) complete the 1,000th gate under the program.
At the time of additional NBWP funding approval, the GAP received around 15 requests per month. However, following significant media coverage, interest in the program surged. From November 2024 through March 2025, GAP requests averaged 25 per month. As of mid-April 2025, 118 alley segments have gates installed or are in the construction process with an additional 45 requests under review. Based on this rate, the $3 million allocation is now projected to be fully expended by early Fiscal Year (FY) 2025-26, sooner than anticipated. To continue meeting community demand, staff is requesting $2.25 million annually in NBWP funds, subject to availability, beginning in FY 2025-26.
The proposed ongoing $2.25 million allocation from the Neighborhood Block Watch Program represents a significant increase over the FY 2024-25 General Fund allocation and would allow Neighborhood Services to gate approximately 200 alley segments per year. Funding for future years is contingent on fund availability to be monitored by the Phoenix Police, Neighborhood Services, and Budget and Research departments and the City Manager’s Office. This will help enhance neighborhood safety and further reduce calls for service.
Youth Prevention Program Pilot
As part of the City's public safety improvement efforts, Mayor and City Council and members of the community have encouraged staff to provide additional resources and establish programming specifically for youth. Youth prevention programs are intended to alleviate and address potential risks to youth, such as substance abuse and violence, while providing supportive environments and interventions. Additional resources to support community organizations to provide these services are needed. As a result, staff recommends, as part of the City's public safety improvement efforts, to establish a pilot program through the Human Services Department (HSD) to facilitate providing youth prevention programming through community based organizations. Staff is requesting $500,000 of NBWP funds for this pilot program. If approved, HSD staff will conduct a procurement process to select local service providers for the youth prevention programming pilot.
Contract Term
The award period is July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026.
Financial Impact
No matching funds are required.
Concurrence/Previous Council Action
This item was recommended for approval by the Public Safety and Justice Subcommittee at the May 7, 2025 meeting.
Department
Responsible Department
This item is submitted by Assistant City Managers Lori Bays and Inger Erickson, Deputy City Managers Gina Montes and Alan Stephenson and the Police and Neighborhood Services departments.