Special Notice / Hearing: None__
Vote Required: Majority
To: Honorable Board of Supervisors
From: Michael P. Callagy, County Executive
Roberto Manchia, Chief Financial Officer
Subject: Priority Areas and Funding Opportunity for 2024 Measure K Grants
RECOMMENDATION:
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Adopt a resolution:
A) Establishing three Priority Areas for current funding opportunity for 2024 Measure K Grants; and
B) Authorizing and directing the County Executive, or designee, in the County Executive’s discretion, to develop and implement a notice of funding opportunity process for 2024 Measure K Grant applications within the Priority Areas, with grants subject to Board approval.
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BACKGROUND:
In 2012, the County voted in favor of a ballot initiative, Measure A, a countywide half-cent sales tax to financially support essential County services and to ensure the maintenance of aging government infrastructure. In November 2016, Measure K was passed by San Mateo County voters to extend the sales tax for 20 years, until March 31, 2043.
As part of the initial Measure A ballot initiative, the Board and the County Manager identified potential service areas for spending funds generated by the sales tax. In 2013, staff held public speaking events to engage the community, and the subsequent RFP process was open to all Community Based Organizations (CBOs). Some of the contracts resulting from this process remain in place between the CBOs and the County. Community needs have evolved over the past ten years and this Board aims to align services with these needs.
On February 6, 2023, this Board held a retreat to discuss community needs for allocation of Measure K funds for the anticipated FY 2024-25 budget. Through this retreat and subsequent discussions, this Board expressed interest in gathering community input regarding funding needs across and within four priority areas of Housing and Homelessness, Children and Families, Mental Health, and Emergency Preparedness. In response to changing community needs and to enhance transparency and efficiency in the Measure K funding allocation process, staff have developed a Measure K allocation proposal, and identified minor changes within the Board-identified priority areas.
DISCUSSION:
In May 2023, the County’s Executive Office reached out to County Departments to inquire about the service gaps that they have identified in existing Measure K-funded programs and ideas for how to allocate Measure K funding going forward. County staff compiled a list of recommendations using Department feedback about perceived service gaps.
In July 2023, County staff, together with Koné Consulting and Thrive Alliance, held a listening session for local CBOs. During this event, staff provided a timeline of the upcoming changes to Measure K allocations and Koné Consulting led CBOs in exercises to share their vision on how to best utilize Measure K funding to improve community outcomes.
In August 2023, InterEthnica and County staff conducted both a Countywide needs survey and eight listening sessions throughout the County to collect feedback on community priorities. These listening sessions were held in cities or neighborhoods across all five Supervisorial Districts of the County: El Granada, Pescadero, East Palo Alto, San Mateo, North Fair Oaks, South San Francisco, and Daly City. A total of 2,661 residents provided feedback through either or both methods. Two thousand three hundred sixteen survey responses were collected, with 900 surveys completed in-person and 27 conducted over the phone. Three hundred forty-five residents participated in the listening sessions across the County.
The County made extensive efforts to engage diverse communities and demographics within the County, spreading listening sessions throughout the County for ease of attendance, and affording access through languages including Spanish, Chinese in both Mandarin and Cantonese, and Tagalog. During these sessions, community members were asked to form small discussion groups to discuss their priorities. Using community input collected from both the Countywide surveys and listening sessions, InterEthnica produced a report highlighting key findings, which were presented to this Board at the October 3, 2023 Measure K Study Session.
After several months of information gathering, staff have been working to implement the feedback gathered from departments, CBOs, and the community. Based on department feedback, staff recommends that committed funds for ongoing Measure K projects be preserved at budgeted funding levels. In addition, from the CBO and community listening sessions, staff are incorporating community needs with Board priorities in the 2024 Measure K grant process.
Notice of Funding Opportunity for 2024 Measure K Grants
With this Board’s approval, staff intends to develop and implement a streamlined notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) process to obtain applications for 2024 Measure K grants (2024 Measure K Grants) within Board approved priority areas (described below). The NOFO process will promote the selection of projects which will make a meaningful difference in serving and meeting the needs of the community.
This Board will make ultimate decisions as to whether to approve specific 2024 Measure K Grants following the (NOFO) process. The process will begin with the release of the Measure K Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) in November 2023. The process will be conducted on OpenGov, the County’s new contracting system. OpenGov offers an intuitive and user-friendly platform, making it more accessible for applicants to navigate and complete necessary forms. Applicants will be required to meet four minimum qualification requirements and answer five technical proposal questions. Applications will be evaluated based on the following criteria:(1) the extent to which the proposed project will provide improvements for County residents in the relevant Priority Area; (2) the applicant’s organizational and leadership capacity, including its financial and management capacity, to effectively and efficiently execute the proposed project and achieve its objectives; (3) the applicant’s demonstrated experience and qualifications in the relevant Priority Area, including impact of programs and services; (4) proposed performance measures; (5) budget proposal; and (6) County and community needs within and across Priority Areas, as determined within the County’s sole discretion.
The County Executive’s office staff will coordinate the NOFO process and evaluate proposals to ensure that minimum qualifications are met. Departmental staff in coordination with County Executive Office’s staff, Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) in their respective areas, will evaluate responses to the technical proposal and provide a total score for each grant application. County staff will submit recommendations to the Board for approval of individual grants. The anticipated timeline for this process is further outlined below:
• Measure K NOFO release on November 1, 2023
• Measure K NOFO Preproposal Conference on November 3, 2023
• Measure K NOFO Technical Support Workshop on November 14, 2023
• Measure K NOFO closes on January 05, 2024 - deadline to submit applications
• Evaluations of Measure K NOFO January 8, 2024 - February 2, 2024
• Measure K Grant recommendation and selection process begins on February 7, 2024
• Measure K Grant recommendations submitted for Board review and approval on March 12, 2024
• Measure K finalize proposed grant agreements and final Board approval March 13, 2024 - June 15, 2024
This is a general description of the NOFO process and timeline; the Board will be asked to grant the County Executive, or designee, authority to make changes to the NOFO process and its implementation as appropriate in the County Executive’s discretion.
Priority Areas for 2024 Measure K Grants
Consistent with past Board and Measure K subcommittee discussions, and results from community listening sessions, staff recommends that the funding priority areas (“Priority Areas”) for the 2024 Measure K Grants are as follows:
1. Children, Families, and Seniors
2. Housing and Homelessness
3. Emergency Preparedness
Mental Health is included within the above Priority Areas. These Priority Areas reflect the Board’s desire that the 2024 Measure K Grants should be focused on addressing needs within these Priority Areas, subject to Board discretion to make funding and appropriation decisions in the best interest of the County.
EQUITY IMPACT:
Measure K has had a significant impact in improving outcomes for communities throughout the County for over ten years. This revised grant process and Measure K funding allocation seeks to measurably improve outcomes for all stakeholders especially community-based organizations and residents based on the community’s current concerns and priorities. The process has taken into account the voices, needs, and desired outcomes as expressed by local community members.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The FY 2024-25 Recommended Budget is estimated to include approximately $110 million in Measure K revenue. Expenditures related to ongoing initiatives and priority area Measure K grant allocations will be fully funded by Measure K revenue with no impact to the General Fund. The Board of Supervisors will approve a detailed Measure K budget for FY 2024-25 in March 2024, which will include funds for the 2024 Measure K Grants.