SEQUIM — Sequim City Council members have opted to cap municipal funding contracts next year at 1.5 percent of the city’s general fund.
The decision follows a city staff report that, from 2015 to 2025, the municipal funding program has grown 220 percent from $80,000 to $255,600 annually.
Executive Assistant Merrin Packer said at the June 9 city council meeting that, in comparison with six other cities of various sizes, Sequim is budgeted to award 2 percent this year while those other cities are contracting for municipal funds at 1 percent to 1.5 percent of their general funds.
Sequim’s municipal funding program aims to address community needs and public interests by awarding funds through an application process for human services for the poor and infirm, economic development for disadvantaged communities or neglected areas, minor financial relief to small businesses during a declared emergency, and recreational opportunities with broad public appeal, according to city documents.
Council members unanimously agreed on June 9 for staff to bring back funding guidelines to tonight’s city council meeting, where it will be on the consent agenda.
For this year’s city budget, $220,600 — or 1.2 percent of the city’s general fund budget — will go to municipal awards, including to the Sequim Health & Housing Collaborative, contracted for $142,000 for services, plus a $12,000 administrative fee for the Olympic Peninsula YMCA to support the collaborative.
With an additional $30,000 to pay part of the salary for Sequim School District’s school resource officer, that brings the total for municipal awards to $250,600, or 2 percent of the city’s general fund, city staff report.
Packer said each year, applicants can request a one-time lump sum under $10,000 for reimbursement, or a one-year or two-year contract. Agencies must reapply unless they’re in the first year of a two-year contract.
Sequim only has two applicants for two-year contracts while the rest are one-year contracts, Packer said.
City documents state staff have created online applications, standardized reporting requirements, updated guidelines, established key policy decisions from council and are tracking data. However, Packer said they’ve had to follow up many times with agencies asking if they’re going to apply.
City staff are no longer accepting any late applications for municipal funding, Packer said.
Deadlines
Staff recommended moving up the application deadline to mid-June from September so they could better prepare the annual budget. They also suggested sending out one public reminder rather than reaching out to past applicants individually.
City council member Harmony Rutter recommended staff share public reminders in January, in the middle and toward the end of the city’s deadline.
“I think there is a middle ground,” she said. “We’re dealing with nonprofits that are under-resourced, (and) folks who are under-resourced are always scrambling for time and energy.”
She added that the time between applying and receiving a grant is too long.
Council member Vicki Lowe said, “applying for a grant in June and getting the money in January is very out of the ordinary … Small nonprofits may not know how much they need until closer (to deadline).”
She said the grants they provide are “public health and safety issues.”
Deputy Mayor Rachel Anderson shared a concern about community impact by moving up the deadline.
By agreeing to a cap for municipal funding, City Manager Matt Huish said they could push the deadline for applications to sometime in July.
To help agencies with deadlines, council member Nicole Hartman recommended submitting announcements to the Sequim-Dungeness Valley Chamber of Commerce, and Rutter wanted a press release sent out in addition to announcements on the city’s website and in its newsletter.
Council members also requested that city staff present to them about the applicants and that they be in full agreement about who receives the funds.
Hartman said she understands why city staff would want a cap for budgeting purposes, but she didn’t want to go below 1.5 percent of the general fund.
“I feel like we’re going to see an increase in need,” she said.
Applications require agencies to share their goals, deliverables, evidence, expenses, personal time and more.
For more information on municipal funding in Sequim, visit sequimwa.gov.
________
Matthew Nash is a reporter with the Olympic Peninsula News Group, which is composed of Sound Publishing newspapers Peninsula Daily News, Sequim Gazette and Forks Forum. He can be reached by email at matthew.nash@sequimgazette.com.
