Title
Authorize Recommended Changes to 2023 Neighborhood Block Watch Grant Application Guide and Program Process (Ordinance S-49108)
Description
Request to authorize the City Manger, or his designee, to approve of changes to the 2023 Neighborhood Block Watch Grant Program (NBWGP) application guide and program process, as recommended by the Neighborhood Block Watch Oversight Committee.
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 held on Oct. 5, 1993. The City Council adopted the format and guidelines for this process on April 26, 1994. The NBWGP is administered by the Police Department.
The NBWGP Oversight Committee reviewed and approved requests to change the NBWGP grant application and program process during their meeting on Sept. 22, 2022. The NBWGP Oversight Committee is recommending the following changes become effective for the 2023 Neighborhood Block Watch Grant application process, which opens on Nov. 1, 2022.
The following is a list of the significant NBWGP Oversight Committee recommended changes to the 2023 NBWGP Application Guide (Attachment A):
1. Amend the application guide to close the grant application process Monday, December 5, 2022 at 4:00 p.m., Arizona time.
2. On page 5, Evaluation of Application, replace "NOTE: LINE-ITEM VETOES ARE PROHIBITED," with the following language, "The purpose of a grant is to enhance crime prevention, safety, and quality of life issues in the City of Phoenix. Line-item vetoes can be applied when at least two-thirds of attending committee members agree that the item does not meet these criteria."
3. One page 6, Responsible Party Contact Information/ Grant Contract Signers, add "A Co-Applicant Group is limited to one grant application per grant year, unless it is a City of Phoenix Department."
4. On pages 7 and 8, Budget Categories and Description
• Personnel - add “to pay Block Watch members for any services is strictly prohibited.”
• Volunteer hour contributions - add "These hours should be directly related to grant projects to include but not limited to, Phoenix Neighborhood Patrol; Alley Cleanups; GAIN; and/or Newsletters."
• Operational expenses - add "Events funded by grant funds cannot solicit and/or accept funds such as admission or booth fees for that event."
• Equipment/Supplies - add "Supplies necessary to maintain gates for the Gated Alley Program."
5. On page 11, Multiple Applications, add "In the case where more than two applications are submitted under the same NSD listing number, the application(s) with the primary applicant recognized as primary contact by the Neighborhood Services Department will take precedence."
6. On page 11, Required Documents, change “Applicants requesting between $1 and $1,000 to “$1 and $3,000”; $1,001 and $12,000 to “$3,001 to $15,000”.
7. On page 12, Grant Dollar Limitations, change $12,000 to $15,000.
8. On page 14, Prohibited and Restricted Use of Funds, add “All expenditures from provided grant funds shall be made only in accordance with Grantee’s budget as set forth in the approved grant application and proposal, or as modified by agreement in writing signed by City and Grantee.”
9. On pages 14 and 15, Prohibited Items List
• Remove “Entertainment, parties, and recognition dinners not designated as a GAIN event"
• Remove “Food or beverages of any kind, including consumable prizes or incentives in the form of food or beverages"
• Add “Entertainment, parties, and recognition dinners, unless they include a crime prevention, safety, and/or quality of life improvement component, such as a GAIN event"
• Add “Police Scanners”
10. On pages 16, 17, and 18, Restricted Items Chart
• Change to, “Laptops, computers, tablets, or notebooks ($1,500 per grant year $750 per item; no more than two items per grant year; limited to a purchase of two items total every three grant years"
• Change to, "Two-way Radios, including accessories (per radio)"
• Remove, “Police Scanners (per item)"
• Change to, "Entertainer/Entertainment group to include Face Painter(s), Disc Jockey(s), or Balloon Artist(s) (each artist/group, per event)"
• Add, “Food or beverages of any kind; must be for the use of crime prevention, safety, quality of life, or Wake-Up Clubs”
• Add, “Generators”
• Add, "Bicycles ($500 per item; no more than two items per grant year)"
• Remove, “Craft/ Gardening Supplies"
• Change to, "Sports Equipment and Supplies"
• Change to, "Laptops, computers, tablets, or notebooks are restricted to a maximum of $1,500 per application (in addition to $750 per item restriction); no more than two items per grant year; limited to a purchase of two items total every three grant years"
11. Insurance Requirement, add, (for Primary Applicant Group Only).
Contract Term
The funding period for the 2023 NBWGP grants is July 1, 2023 through June 30, 2024.
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 Oct. 12, 2022, meeting by a vote of 4-0.
Department
Responsible Department
This item is submitted by Assistant City Manager Lori Bays and the Police Department, on behalf of the Neighborhood Block Watch Oversight Committee.