Title
Request for Appropriation of Neighborhood Block Watch Funds (Ordinance S-51497) - Citywide
Description
Request City Council authorization to appropriate up to $3 million from the Neighborhood Block Watch Fund. Further request the appropriation of up to $3 million from the Block Watch Fund to be allocated to provide additional funding in support of the Gated Alley Program.
Report
Summary
Funding for the Neighborhood Block Watch Grant Program (NBWGP) primarily comes from an increase in sales tax revenues that was adopted by the special election held on October 5, 1993. The NBWGP 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.
- Teach crime prevention techniques.
At the end of Fiscal Year 2023-24, the fund had an available balance of $10.8 million. The sales tax revenue is estimated to be approximately $2.8 million in Fiscal Year (FY) 2024-25. The current approved ongoing grant award is $2 million per year. The fund balance is able to support the annual award total as well as other public safety needs, such as the proposed support of the gated alley program.
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 the demand is the increase in the perceived safety and reduction in illegal activities experienced by residents. This perceived 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 obtain necessary permitting and for the construction and installation of gates at the end of alleys for up to 10 alley segments in each Council District. Since the initial pilot, the program has continued to grow in popularity and the community's demand to install additional gates continues to increase.
Through a coordinated, multi-departmental effort, staff were able to prioritize potential alley segments in each Police Precinct, with Neighborhood Services (NSD) and Public Works staff providing further review of the identified alley segments for eligibility based on alley layout and access requirements. The $750,000 of NBWGP funds allowed for an additional 65 alley segments (157 gates) to be gated through the GAP. In total, NSD installed 368 gates in 156 alley segments with funding from the General Fund, City Council Offices, and NBWGP funds in FY 2023-24.
Current funding, $852,000 from the General Fund, would allow for an estimated 77 segments (154 gates) for FY 2024-25. As of October 22, 2024, GAP has already received 130 requests. On average, the program receives 15 new requests each month. Should that pace continue, an estimated 120 additional requests are expected by June 30, 2025. Additionally, NSD is partnering with Public Works to offer to relocate solid waste services from alley to curbside, as requested by residents. As part of Public Works’ process, a survey is conducted to evaluate residents’ interest in solid waste services relocation. New survey language is being piloted to also gauge residents’ interest in gating their alleys after their solid waste services are relocated. Public Works may complete up to 100 surveys in a year, with the anticipation that most residents will be in favor of gating their alleys as well. Based on these projections, NSD estimates the total number of requests could exceed 300 for the year.
The additional $3 million in Neighborhood Block Watch Program funds would allow NSD to gate approximately 240 additional alley segments over two years. In addition, a portion of the funds would be used to purchase the unanticipated 90-gallon solid waste containers necessary to relocate services curbside as part of the GAP process, as well as signage to deter illegal activity in alleys and surrounding neighborhoods.
Gated Culvert (Wash) Program
As of September 30, 2024, Street Transportation staff have successfully installed gates at 11 locations. These locations were identified by members of the PSJ subcommittee and from CARES cases. The completed locations include:
- 16th Street and Greenway Parkway
- 20th Street and Greenway Parkway
- 31st Avenue and Deer Valley Road
- 41st Place and Thunderbird Road
- 35th Avenue and Mohawk Lane
- 3rd Avenue and Greenway Parkway
- Greenway Parkway and Beck Lane
- 901 West Phelps Road
- 10th Avenue and Moonlight Park
- 11th Avenue and Sandra Terrace
- 19th Avenue and Greenway Road
Staff has identified nine more sites for culvert gate installation within the Laveen Area Conveyance Channel (LACC) and one location at 7th Street and Greenway Parkway. Staff will coordinate with the selected vendor to complete gate installations as soon as possible, targeting a completion date of January 31, 2025. Even with the additional nine locations, there will be approximately $750,000 in savings from the previous block watch allocation.
Recommendations
Staff requests the City Council authorize an appropriation of $3 million from the Block Watch Fund. The $3 million in Neighborhood Block Watch Program funds would be allocated to the Gated Alley Program (GAP) over two years to address safety issues in alleys and meet the requests for gated alleys from residents, city staff and public safety personnel. These funds will also help offset the initial cost to Public Works for new solid waste containers for curbside service, and to provide signage to deter illegal activity in neighborhoods. With City Council approval, staff anticipates using the funding to install additional gates over the next 24 months with projected completion by December 2026.
Staff further requests the City Council reallocate savings of approximately $750,000 from the Gated Culvert (Wash) Program to the maintenance of the washes and adjacent areas. The additional resources for enhanced maintenance and cleaning will assist in addressing illegal dumping and criminal activities occurring in or around the washes. Maintenance is necessary to ensure that debris does not obstruct water flow during storm events and to prevent overgrown vegetation and trash that may pose fire hazards.
Department
Responsible Department
This item is submitted by Assistant City Manager Lori Bays, Deputy City Managers Alan Stephenson and Inger Erickson, the Police, Neighborhood Services and Street Transportation departments.