Title
Apply for Federal Communications Commission Affordable Connectivity Program Outreach Grant Opportunity for Federal Fiscal Years 2023-24 and 2024-25 - Federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Funding (Ordinance S-49425)
Description
Request to retroactively authorize the City Manager, or his designee, to apply for, accept, and if awarded, enter into agreements for disbursement of funding from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for the Federal Fiscal Years 2023-24 through 2024-25 Affordable Connectivity Program Outreach grant opportunity. If awarded, the funding will be used to educate Phoenix residents about the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) benefits and to enroll eligible Phoenix residents in the ACP. Further request to authorize the City Treasurer to accept, and the City Controller to disburse, all funds related to this item. Funding for this grant is available through the Federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The total grant funds applied for will not exceed $788,000 and the City's local match would not exceed $20,000.
Report
Summary
On Nov. 10, 2022, the FCC issued a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for the Affordable Connectivity Outreach Grant Program with an application deadline of Jan. 9, 2023. The City applied for the National Competitive Outreach Program element, which has a $60 million allocation. Funding requests were limited to a range of $50,000 and $1 million and the City's application requested $788,000 for a two-year outreach program.
The City's proposal offers a multipronged approach to both educating Phoenix residents about, and enrolling eligible Phoenix residents in, the ACP. City staff across multiple departments, including the Community and Economic Development, Housing, Human Services, Library and Neighborhood Services departments, will disseminate information about ACP and application assistance options during regular customer interactions. For example, staff serving emergency rental assistance applicants will also share ACP information. Phoenix will also partner with schools and community organizations to connect with residents through resources they know and trust. Digital Navigators will staff in-person, bilingual application labs that will be promoted by both City staff and partners as well as through social media marketing. The City will also provide general information about the ACP and application assistance options through its main phone line and monthly water services bill, and will pursue a social media campaign via Facebook, Twitter, and Google to reach individuals at a mass level. While application assistance will be provided to eligible residents throughout Phoenix, awareness efforts will focus on Qualified Census Tracts (QCTs), which are defined as areas where at least 50 percent of households have incomes below 60 percent of the Area Median Gross Income or the poverty rate is 25 percent or higher.
With a monthly $30 discount for internet service, which in some areas provides residents with free service, and a one-time $100 discount for a laptop or computer, the ACP would bring economic equity to Phoenix by bridging the digital divide for households with income at or below 200 percent of the Federal Poverty Line or participation in any of the following programs: Federal Public Housing Assistance, Free and Reduced-Price School Meal Programs, Medicaid, Pell Grant, Social Security Income, Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or Veterans Pension and Survivors Benefit.
To assist with the implementation of this program, this request includes authorization to fund one temporary full-time City staff position and the equivalent of approximately three full-time temporary staff utilizing the City's contracted employment services providers. The temporary contracted individuals will assist with the City's awareness events and in-person application labs.
This request also seeks authorization to contract with up to 20 community organizations as partners to implement this outreach plan. The City will partner with community organizations, such as the Phoenix Revitalization Corporation, with demonstrated connections to populations that meet the ACP's eligibility criteria and the demonstrated ability to mobilize these populations to take action, such as attending an awareness event or complete an assistance program application. The City implemented similar partnerships for the PHXbizGrants in 2021-22 that resulted in increasing grant awards to small businesses located in QCTs from 34 percent to 60 percent when compared to the City's 2020 small business grant program.
While cost-matching was not a requirement of the grant, application reviewers will consider any proposed cost-matching in the event of a tie during the scoring process. The City proposed the following in-kind contributions: 1) salaries and benefits for City employees in customer serving positions who will promote the ACP and the City's application assistance options as well as for City employees answering phone calls about the program and application assistance; 2) space in City facilities for in-person application labs; 3) computers/tablets for in-person application assistance; 4) webpage development, hosting and updating; and 5) an ACP insert for the City Services bill mailing to 386,000 residences.
Financial Impact
The City's cost-match will not exceed $20,000, which is available in the Community and Economic Development Department's operating budget. All other proposed costs will be funded by the ACP Outreach Grant, should the City's application be funded.
Department
Responsible Department
This item is submitted by Deputy City Managers Mario Paniagua and Ginger Spencer and the Community and Economic Development Department.