Title
Request for Appropriation of Neighborhood Block Watch Funds (Ordinance S-50353)
Description
Request City Council authorization to appropriate up to $2.85 million from the Neighborhood Block Watch Fund. Further request the appropriation of up to $2.85 million from the Block Watch Fund to be allocated to fund gated alley segments, gated washes, and additional public safety signage.
Report
Summary
Funding for the Block Watch Fund primarily comes from an increase in sales tax revenues that was adopted by the special election held on Oct. 5, 1993. The Block Watch Fund is a portion of the Neighborhood Protection Fund, also referred to as Proposition 301, which is used to account for funds generated by the 0.1 percent increase in the sales tax approved by voters. The funds are to be used for the expansion of Police, Fire, and Block Watch programs. The breakdown of funding is as follows: Police, 70 percent; Fire, 25 percent; and Block Watch, 5 percent. Guidelines for projects supported by the Phoenix Block Watch Fund include programs to:
- Detect, deter, and delay crime;
- Improve the quality of life within neighborhoods by educating individuals to work together to solve crime problems;
- Encourage citizens to have pride in their neighborhoods and prevent crime;
- Motivate citizens toward common neighborhood crime prevention goals;
- Coordinate pertinent crime prevention neighborhood/community meetings; and
- Teach crime prevention techniques.
As of Aug. 28, 2023, the fund has an available balance of $10.7 million. The sales tax revenue is estimated to be approximately $2.7 million in Fiscal Year (FY) 2023-24 and the return of unused grant funds and interest is estimated to be $243,000 in FY 2023-24, resulting in an estimated total annual resource of $2.9 million in FY 2023-24. The estimated expenditures to fund grant applications is approximately $2.2 million in FY 2023-24; however, this includes approximately $500,000 in one-time funds for the replacement of grant management software.
The current approved ongoing grant award is approximately $1.75 million per year. This was increased last year during adoption of the updated guidelines from $1.5 million to $1.75 million. Applications for the 2024 Neighborhood Block Watch grants will open on Nov. 1, 2023, and must be submitted by Dec. 7, 2023.
The fund balance is able to support this increase to the annual award total as well as other public safety needs, such as the proposed programs.
Gated Alley Program
The Gated Alley Program was initially piloted in 2017 to provide a new approach to deterring illegal dumping, graffiti, and criminal activity in residential alleys. Since 2017, the popularity and resident demand for gated alleys has grown significantly. One reason for this increase in demand includes the correlation between gating alleys and reduction in criminal activity. The associated reduction in crime enabled the Gated Alley Program to be considered an eligible use of Block Watch Funds. On March 18, 2020, the Phoenix City Council approved using $400,000 in Block Watch Funds to support the Gated Alley Program. The funds were used to create a capital pool that was used exclusively to fund contracts between awarded groups/organizations and City contractors or contractors on the Approved Contractor List (ACL) to design, obtain necessary permitting, and complete all other work associated with building and installing the gates at the end of alleys for up to 10 alley segments in each Council District.
In FY 2022-23, the Phoenix City Council allocated $500,000 from the General Fund, in addition to a staff position, to install gates on eligible alleys in the City of Phoenix. Due to the continued popularity of the program, an additional $352,000 was approved for FY 2023-24. With $852,000 in total, the Neighborhood Services Department (NSD) anticipates gating an estimated 77 alley segments at approximately $11,000 per segment. However, the demand exceeds the availability of funds with more than 80 requests already received, and the current program is limited to resident-initiated gates. Any additional requests after this date may exceed current funding levels and would not be funded until next fiscal year.
Staff recommends allocating $750,000 of Block Watch Funds to support the continuation of the Gated Alley Program. The Block Watch Fund allocation will provide an estimated 68 additional gated alley segments. These alley segments will be identified through a process involving the community in coordination with staff from the Neighborhood Services, Public Works, Street Transportation, Parks and Recreation, Planning and Development, and Police departments as well as the Office of Homeless Solutions. This effort will be used to identify alleys with crime and safety concerns in coordination with current requests by the community.
These funds would be used for alleys experiencing public safety challenges, such as:
- Violent crime;
- Property crime, such as graffiti, property damage, theft, etc.;
- Drug use and/or presence of needles and drug paraphernalia;
- Encampments obstructing solid waste collection or residents use of their alley; and/or
- Residents who express safety fears due to alley misuse.
Gated Washes Program
Similar to concerns that helped initiate the Gated Alley Program, community members have expressed public safety concerns along several washes and culverts throughout the City of Phoenix. These sites have been identified as locations with excess trash and debris, illegal dumping, encampments, and fires. The wash areas that have been identified for gates to address public safety concerns include:
- Greenway Wash
- Cave Creek Wash
- Scattered Wash
- Tatum Boulevard and Ramuda
- Tatum Culvert
- 41st Place and Thunderbird
- 2nd Drive and Union Hills
Street Transportation staff recently completed a pilot program to install gates in the Northern Wash area and associated culverts. This pilot program was successful based on a decline in calls for service and reduced cleanup costs. Installing additional gates along the identified washes will result in annual cleanup savings while enhancing the safety of residents and staff.
Staff recommends allocating $1.9 million of Block Watch Funds to support the expansion of the Gated Wash Program. This allocation will provide at least 104 gates throughout the identified washes to help deter criminal activity and reduce the need for ongoing cleanups.
Additional Signage
In addition to gates, staff recommends allocating up to $200,000 for the installation of "No Trespassing" or other relevant signs for alleys and washes throughout the City of Phoenix. Trespassing has become an increasingly prevalent challenge throughout the City. With additional signage, staff will be more empowered to encourage individuals that might be residing in an alley or wash to accept services. Likewise, Police staff are more capable of effective enforcement with the presence of posted signage nearby. These results will support staff efforts to enhance public safety.
Recommendation
Staff requests City Council authorization on an appropriation of $2.85 million from the Block Watch Fund. The appropriation will be used to deter criminal activity, enhance public safety, and improve quality of life within neighborhoods by funding additional alley segment gates, gated washes/culverts, and the installation of "No Trespassing" or other relevant signage. Staff recommends up to $2.85 million appropriation be allocated based on the following:
- Up to $750,000 for the gated alley program;
- Up to $1,900,000 for the gated washes program; and
- Up to $200,000 for additional signage.
With City Council approval, staff anticipates using the funding to install additional gates and signage over the next 18 to 24 months with projected completion by December 2025.
Department
Responsible Department
This item is submitted by Assistant City Manager Lori Bays, Deputy City Managers Gina Montes and Alan Stephenson, and the Police, Neighborhood Services and Street Transportation departments.