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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2026-09-08 Policy & Services Committee & Human Relations Commission Summary MinutesPOLICY & SERVICES COMMITTEE & HUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSION SUMMARY MINUTES Page 1 of 8 Special Meeting September 8, 2026 The Policy & Services Committee and Human Relations Commission of the City of Palo Alto met on this date in Council Chambers and by virtual teleconference at 6:00 p.m. Present In-Person: Lythcott-Haims (P&S Chair), Reckdahl, Stone Kraus (HRC Chair), Ansari, Causey, Rosenberg Absent: Barr, Stimmler Call to Order Chair Lythcott-Haims called the meeting to order. The clerk called the roll and noted all members of the Policy and Services Committee were present and there was a quorum for the Human Relations Commission. In-Person Public Comment There were no requests to speak. Action Items 1. Recommend that City Council approve the HSRAP Grant Program Expansion Assistant to the City Manager Lupita Alamos stated the proposed HSRAP expansion would establish policy guardrails for a clear, fair, and administrable Community-wide Grants program. The Committee and Commission were asked to recommend the program’s community-wide focus, review the evaluation rubric, clarify governance roles among the HRC, Policy & Services Committee, Finance Committee, and City Council, recommend a funding approach, and establish metrics to evaluate the expansion’s success. As part of the Nonprofit Workplan implementing recommendations from the 2022 audit of nonprofit contracts, Council piloted a Phase 1 grant process to provide a path for nonprofit requests outside established City processes. Due to fiscal constraints and other factors, Council suspended the grant process and made direct allocations to specific nonprofits, while directing the Policy & Services Committee to consider a HSRAP expansion for FY 2028 and FY 2029. Staff proposed 1 process with 2 funding lanes. The existing Priority of Needs Grants would continue without changes or funding reductions, with awards based on alignment with priorities for vulnerable populations. A new, limited Community-wide Grants funding lane would provide a clear, transparent, and predictable process for nonprofit requests that fall outside the existing model. SUMMARY MINUTES Page 2 of 8 Policy & Services Committee/Human Relations Commission Joint Meeting Summary Minutes: 09/08/2026 Human Services Manager Sophie Pigman reviewed the current HSRAP evaluation criteria, which assess proposal responsiveness and alignment with City priorities, benefit and equity for Palo Alto residents, program design and service delivery, financial sustainability, outcomes and community impact, and organizational capacity and City performance. Program design and service delivery receives the greatest weight at 35 percent, followed by resident benefit and equity at 20 percent, outcomes and community impact at 15 percent, financial sustainability and organizational capacity and City performance at 10 percent each, and proposal responsiveness and alignment with City priorities at 5 percent each. Applications must meet RFP requirements and address the FY 2026-2027 Priority of Needs. Assistant to the City Manager Alamos stated staff recommended retaining the existing HSRAP funding methodology. Approximately 78 percent of requests were funded during the previous 5 funding cycles. The City approved more than $6M for nonprofit grants and contracts in FY 2027 and HSRAP receives an annual CPI adjustment and $50,000 annually through the Emerging Needs Fund. Human Services Manager Pigman reviewed preliminary Community Needs Survey results, noting housing-related needs were a major priority among providers and clients. Other identified needs included mental and physical health services, older-adult services and transportation, food and nutrition assistance, social connection and isolation reduction, and youth and caregiver support. Human Services Manager Pigman emphasized that the survey included additional human services categories not shown on the slide but the categories shown were those that rose to the top. Assistant to the City Manager Alamos stated the survey results could inform consideration of the next Priority of Needs and potential categories for Community-wide Grants. Staff recommended $305,000 annually for the HSRAP expansion, based on $235,000 in one-time Council allocations and $70,000 awarded to remaining FY 2026 Nonprofit Workplan recipients. The recommendation concerned the funding amounts rather than the organizations that previously received them. At its August meeting, the Policy & Services Committee expressed interest in considering an additional $123,366 awarded to organizations that were existing HSRAP recipients, which would increase annual expansion funding to $428,366. Staff proposed that the HRC review applications and recommend awards for the Priority of Needs and Community-wide Grants; the Policy & Services Committee provide policy oversight and review HRC recommendations; the Finance Committee consider appropriations and fiscal tradeoffs; Council approve funding levels and final awards; and staff administer the RFP and application review process. The expansion could be incorporated into the existing HSRAP cycle without changing the timeframe. Council consideration of the expansion and funding was anticipated in October, followed by nonprofit engagement and opening of applications in November, application review beginning in March, HRC award recommendations in April, Policy & Services Committee and Finance Committee review in May, and Council approval of HSRAP awards in June. Staff recommended that the Policy & Services Committee recommend Council approval of the HSRAP grant program expansion and provide recommendations regarding Community-wide Grant priorities, funding, and other expansion considerations. SUMMARY MINUTES Page 3 of 8 Policy & Services Committee/Human Relations Commission Joint Meeting Summary Minutes: 09/08/2026 Vice Chair Causey asked about the source of the proposed funding and whether funding for Cal Ave events could shift to the City given the hiring of staff to manage City events. Assistant to the City Manager Alamos stated the proposed funding would be a new General Fund appropriation and that staff had not been directed to move the Cal Ave events funding internally. Councilmember Reckdahl confirmed that the ongoing appropriations would continue the following year and asked how organizations would be assigned between the 2 funding lanes. Assistant to the City Manager Alamos stated organizations seeking funding for programs outside the identified Priority of Needs could be considered for Community-wide Grants. Applications would identify the program to be funded and programs serving an identified Priority of Needs would be considered under that funding lane. Chair Kraus asked whether the current HSRAP evaluation criteria could be modified. Human Services Manager Pigman stated suggestions for changes could be analyzed. Chair Kraus suggested considering the quality of an organization’s team and leadership as an evaluation factor. Commissioner Rosenberg asked how applications would be assigned to the 2 funding lanes. Assistant to the City Manager Alamos stated staff would initially match applications to the HRC- established Priority of Needs and would bring applications that could potentially qualify for either lane to the HRC for consideration. Commissioner Rosenberg asked why existing HSRAP recipients were excluded from staff’s proposed $305,000 expansion funding. Assistant to the City Manager Alamos stated the recommendation focused on nonprofits without an existing funding path. Review of Phase 1 grant applications found that many existing HSRAP recipients were seeking funding they had not received through HSRAP rather than funding for new programs. Given finite resources, staff recommended that those organizations continue to seek funding through the existing HSRAP lane rather than including the additional $123,366 in the expansion funding. Vice Chair Causey confirmed that the proposed $305,000 would not reduce existing HSRAP, Emerging Needs, or other essential City services funding. Assistant to the City Manager Alamos reiterated the appropriation would be additional funding. Chair Lythcott-Haims clarified that the Policy & Services Committee had recommended in August that the larger funding amount be considered, including funding previously allocated to organizations that received funding through HSRAP and the Nonprofit Workplan. Chair Lythcott-Haims clarified that $506,646 was awarded through the FY 2026 Nonprofit Workplan Phase 1 and noted discrepancies in the staff report. Assistant to the City Manager Alamos confirmed $506,646 was the correct amount. Of 22 nonprofit applicants requesting a total of $819,000, 16 received funding totaling $506,646. Some organizations received full funding and others received partial funding. Deputy City Manager Chantal Cotton Gaines clarified that the $819,000 requested included $78,280 in ongoing allocations to 3 organizations SUMMARY MINUTES Page 4 of 8 Policy & Services Committee/Human Relations Commission Joint Meeting Summary Minutes: 09/08/2026 that had since become part of departmental budgets. Chair Lythcott-Haims stated the information helped establish the potential level of need the revised process was intended to address. Public Comment: 1. Deborah G., Executive Director of La Comida, stated the senior nutrition program served vulnerable and food-insecure seniors. Daily participation had increased from approximately 200-250 to more than 300 seniors, totaling more than 77,000 meals annually, while food costs had nearly doubled during the previous year. La Comida addressed isolation and depression among seniors and hoped to receive increased funding. 2. Larry M., Government Affairs and Community Liaison for JobTrain, stated JobTrain tracked services to Palo Alto residents through physical addresses and ZIP codes and had provided more than 300 services to residents during the previous year, including résumé preparation, interview skills, and coaching. During the previous 3 years, JobTrain placed 95 medical assisting and nursing graduates at Stanford Hospital and 74 individuals at Stanford University. JobTrain sought to promote economic mobility by connecting graduates with employment opportunities. Chair Lythcott-Haims summarized the City’s nonprofit funding processes, noting the City provided more than $6M annually through various nonprofit funding mechanisms. Following recommendations from a 2022 City audit, the Nonprofit Workplan Phase 1 was implemented in FY 2026 to provide funding opportunities for organizations outside the scope of HSRAP and other City funding mechanisms. Council paused the program for FY 2027 due to fiscal constraints and feedback that the process was complicated and confusing, allowing additional study and potential integration into the biennial HSRAP process. Chair Lythcott-Haims stated approximately $506,000 was awarded through the FY 2026 Nonprofit Workplan Phase 1, including approximately $78,000 subsequently incorporated into departmental budgets, leaving approximately $428,000 in prior allocations for consideration. Staff recommended $305,000 annually for the expanded HSRAP. Chair Lythcott-Haims asked the joint bodies to consider who the expansion should serve, evaluation criteria, governance roles, an appropriate funding amount or approach, and success metrics. Vice Mayor Stone expressed support for the proposed approach and appreciated the increased role of the HRC in reviewing applications, noting the HRC had not been sufficiently involved in the Nonprofit Workplan Phase 1. Vice Chair Causey supported using a common application for the 2 HSRAP funding lanes and suggested considering a common application across other major nonprofit funding programs, similar to Mountain View’s approach, in which applicants submit a common application and staff determines the appropriate funding source. Vice Chair Causey stated this could reduce applicant confusion, standardize reporting, and provide a more complete picture of City SUMMARY MINUTES Page 5 of 8 Policy & Services Committee/Human Relations Commission Joint Meeting Summary Minutes: 09/08/2026 funding. Vice Chair Causey recommended establishing consistent data-reporting requirements, including demographic data useful for evaluating outcomes. Given the projected FY 2028 General Fund deficit, Vice Chair Causey recommended treating the initial expansion funding as a limited pilot and reconsidering the funding level during each budget cycle. Vice Chair Causey supported evaluating applications based on identifiable benefits to Palo Alto residents rather than narrowly defined issue areas, including community need and urgency, direct resident benefit, and equity impact, and suggested excluding unrestricted organizational support and programs primarily benefiting people outside Palo Alto. Chair Kraus stated HSRAP evaluations had consistently focused on benefits to Palo Alto residents and services for vulnerable populations. Chair Kraus expressed concern that the proposed $305,000 for Community-wide Grants would be insufficient to meet demonstrated demand and questioned whether a larger allocation would be more realistic. Chair Kraus supported retaining the existing HSRAP process while adding the Community-wide Grants funding opportunity. Commissioner Rosenberg supported the HSRAP expansion and use of a common application. Commissioner Rosenberg supported implementing the expansion as a limited pilot, reevaluating it during each budget cycle, and potentially incorporating CDBG and other funding programs into the common application process based on the pilot’s results. Commissioner Ansari stated this was her first HSRAP cycle and she was interested in listening and learning from the discussion. Commissioner Ansari expressed general support for the comments and recommendations made by the other members. Councilmember Reckdahl asked how broadly the benefit to Palo Alto residents would be interpreted and whether that definition would be clear to applicants. Human Services Manager Pigman stated the HRC would evaluate the benefit and could seek clarification from applicants during its review. Councilmember Reckdahl asked how Community-wide Grant applications would be evaluated. Human Services Manager Pigman stated the same evaluation criteria would apply to the 2 funding lanes, except that alignment with City priorities would be replaced by alignment with an identified Community-wide Grant priority. Councilmember Reckdahl expressed concern that some programs providing significant community benefits might not score well under the existing criteria and asked how strictly numerical scores determined funding recommendations. Human Services Manager Pigman stated scores provided a transparent evaluation framework but were followed by discussion and could be adjusted with documented justification. Deputy City Manager Cotton Gaines added that the largest portion of the evaluation, 35 percent, was based on program design and service delivery, allowing the review to focus substantially on the proposed work rather than an organization’s size or structure. Councilmember Reckdahl asked whether funding could be shifted between the 2 lanes. Human Services Manager Pigman stated that, during the pilot, unused Community-wide Grant funding SUMMARY MINUTES Page 6 of 8 Policy & Services Committee/Human Relations Commission Joint Meeting Summary Minutes: 09/08/2026 could be redirected to the existing HSRAP funding lane if insufficient qualifying Community- wide Grant applications were received. Chair Lythcott-Haims noted that the funding lanes were part of an expanded HSRAP program rather than separate funding programs. Chair Kraus stated the existing HSRAP application had been simplified based on input from nonprofit applicants and was designed to be manageable for organizations of varying sizes. Chair Kraus emphasized the importance of maintaining an application process that was not overly burdensome for smaller organizations with limited staffing and allowed all applicants an opportunity to be evaluated. Deputy City Manager Cotton Gaines clarified that all grantees receiving funding through the most recent Nonprofit Workplan received at least 70 percent of the amount requested, with most receiving a higher percentage. Commissioner Rosenberg asked whether applicants were required to identify how City funding would be used. Human Services Manager Pigman stated applicants were required to submit a proposed budget detailing the planned use of funds as part of the proposal evaluation. Chair Lythcott-Haims asked when nonprofits received awarded funds, noting previous Council discussion about the benefits of providing funding in advance rather than through reimbursement. Human Services Manager Pigman stated nonprofits generally billed the City quarterly for reimbursement and received payment within 2 weeks. Assistant to the City Manager Alamos added that contracts allowed nonprofits to request up to 25 percent of the award in advance. Commissioner Ansari asked how community impact and outcomes were evaluated. Human Services Manager Pigman stated evaluations considered the number of individuals an organization proposed to serve, with subsequent reporting documenting the number of Palo Alto residents served. Vice Mayor Stone moved, seconded by Vice Chair Causey, to recommend that Council approve the HSRAP grant program expansion with an annual allocation of $305,000 and reevaluate the allocation after 2 years based on community needs and budgetary constraints. Vice Mayor Stone supported beginning with the staff-recommended amount given the City’s projected budget deficit and noted that the allocation would remain subject to subsequent Finance Committee and Council consideration through the budget process. Chair Kraus confirmed that the proposed expansion would not affect existing HSRAP funding and Deputy City Manager Cotton Gaines stated the motion addressed only funding for the expansion. Chair Lythcott- Haims proposed increasing the annual expansion allocation to $428,000, stating the amount reflected the level of funding provided through the previous Nonprofit Workplan and that nonprofit funding should not be reduced at this time. City Attorney Christopher Jenson clarified the procedural requirements for the joint advisory vote and proposed amendment. Human Services Manager Pigman cautioned that increasing the funding could increase the number of grants administered by Human Services and suggested that gradual implementation could help SUMMARY MINUTES Page 7 of 8 Policy & Services Committee/Human Relations Commission Joint Meeting Summary Minutes: 09/08/2026 evaluate the effect on staff workload. Vice Mayor Stone declined the proposed amendment, citing the City’s changed financial circumstances and his belief that the $305,000 allocation was more likely to receive Council approval. Chair Lythcott-Haims moved, seconded by Chair Kraus, as a substitute motion, to increase the annual HSRAP expansion allocation to $428,000. Chair Lythcott-Haims stated the amount represented a small portion of the City’s General Fund and would maintain the previous level of nonprofit funding. Councilmember Reckdahl questioned whether the $78,280 in ongoing departmental appropriations would make the proposed amount an increase in overall City nonprofit funding. Deputy City Manager Cotton Gaines clarified that the $78,280 was included in the FY 2027 budget as ongoing departmental appropriations and that the other funding categories totaled approximately $428,000. Councilmember Reckdahl stated the clarification resolved his concern and supported maintaining the previous year’s funding level. Deputy City Manager Cotton Gaines noted that the projected General Fund deficit remained fluid and would become clearer during the May budget process. MOTION: Vice Mayor Stone moved, seconded by Vice Chair Causey, to: 1. Recommend the City Council approve the HSRAP grant program expansion at $305,000 annually and place this recommendation on the consent calendar; 2. Direct staff to return to Policy & Services 2 years after implementation of the HSRAP grant program expansion to reevaluate the allocated amount to ensure it is meeting community needs while balancing budgetary constraints; and 3. Direct the Human Relations Commission to evaluate the current HSRAP evaluation criteria to ensure that criteria is still meeting our community’s needs. MOTION FAILED/PASSED: SUBSTITUTE MOTION: Chair Lythcott-Haims moved, seconded by Chair Kraus, to: 1. Recommend the City Council approve the HSRAP grant program expansion at $428,000 annually and place this recommendation on the consent calendar; 2. Direct staff to return to Policy & Services 2 years after implementation of the HSRAP grant program expansion to reevaluate the allocated amount to ensure it is meeting community needs while balancing budgetary constraints; and 3. Direct the Human Relations Commission to evaluate the current HSRAP evaluation criteria to ensure that criteria is still meeting our community’s needs. SUBSTITUTE MOTION PASSED: 7-0-2, Barr and Stimmler absent SUMMARY MINUTES Page 8 of 8 Policy & Services Committee/Human Relations Commission Joint Meeting Summary Minutes: 09/08/2026 Virtual Public Comment There were no requests to speak. Future Meetings and Agendas Deputy City Manager Chantal Cotton Gaines noted the next Policy & Services Committee meeting would be held on the second Tuesday in October and that staff would coordinate with the Chair regarding agenda items. Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 7:31 p.m.