Title
Allocating 2019 Community Engagement funding.
Body
WHEREAS, community engagement through a network of seventeen District Councils is a cornerstone of Saint Paul's planning, policy development, neighborhood revitalization and crime prevention efforts, with the District Councils established to play a central role in engaging the public, especially residents and business owners that are traditionally underrepresented in civic dialogue; and
WHEREAS, a Census-based funding formula for the allocation of citizen participation funds to district councils was adopted by the City through Resolution 05-123 Amending the 2005 Saint Paul Budget to Address Citizen Participation Formula Allocation; and
WHEREAS, that Citizen Participation Formula provides resources to District Councils on the basis of population, percentage of residents living in poverty, percentage of residents who speak a language other than English at home, and number of jobs, recognizing that areas with these characteristics require more resources for meaningful and inclusive engagement, and includes a minimum amount of funding support for all District Councils; and
WHEREAS, Resolution 13-1724 Creating the Saint Paul Community Engagement Grant Program and locating funding increased the minimum funding for District Councils through the funding formula; and
WHEREAS, the 2018 Phase II Community Engagement Research Report conducted jointly by the Saint Paul District Councils through the support of the Innovation Fund noted that district council funding has stayed flat over a long-term period; and
WHEREAS, Resolution 18-2072 Adopting the 2019 Budget included an additional $250,000 for the Community Engagement Grant Program;
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the minimum funding level under the formula adopted in 2013 be increased by $5,000 to $56,872.59, and
AND FINALY RESOLVED that the $1,411,211 adopted in the 2019 budget for Community Engagement be allocated among the district councils as indicated on the attached Table 1.