Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutIR 9481 INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 9481 April 3, 2012 To the Mayor and Members of the City Council Page 1 of 2 SUBJECT: Local Impact of Federal/State Budget Reductions The purpose of this Informal Report is to respond to Staff Actio City Council on February 14, 2012 to provide a listing of all fe/state funds the City receives. The reduction in federal / state funds will impact services currently provided by the City. The services will be eliminated, significantly reduced, absorbed by the Departments or submitted consideration in the upcoming budget. The following is a short synopsis of the grants that are subject to elimination and/or reduction and their impact on City services. General Fund Library The manages the Early Childhood Matters Grant that targets geographic areas with the largest proportion of children entering kindergarten without the necessary skills. Th teaches parents the essential elements of literacy and language deve ways to work with their children at home to improve school readiIn 2011, funding for this program was eliminated. Seventy-five (75%) percent of the grant has already been absorbed by the operating budget in FY2012. The total known impact FY2013 will be $96,131. Parks and Community Services (PACS) has oversight of the community services division. Community Service Block Grants (CSBG) fund the core activities of the division. The total grant is $1.5M. It allows the division to mobilize various resources to combat the central causes of poverty in the City of Fort Worth; by assisting residents with homeless prevention, emergency food, shelter and other emerging needs across Tarrant County. This grant is slated to be reduced as part of the federal budget; however, Congress has not finalized the reductions. If this grant is lost, the division will have to reduce their Community Action Partners The total anticipatedimpact is$765,000 for FY2013. Other Funds PACS Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) aims to reduc low income families, particularly the elderly and residents withThe total grant is $4.7M. This grant serves most vulnerable residents. This grant, along with the CSBG mentioned above, is included in the federal budget. If the grant is reduced, there will be minimal ; impact to staffing levels however support will be reduced and clients will have greater difficulty accessing services. This can be demanding in the extreme weather months. The total anticipated impact in FY2013 is $600,000. Housing and Economic Development will have to reduce the number of Public Service contracts due to the reduction of funds provided by Community Development Block Grant (CDBG). The total grant entitlement for this program is $5.8M for FY2013. These funds are utilized for infrastructure projects, rehabilitation of housing units and acquisition of park property. $1.1M was reduced in FY2012. The known impact for FY2013 is $320,410. ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 9481 April 3, 2012 To the Mayor and Members of the City Council Page 2 of 2 SUBJECT: Local Impact of Federal/State Budget Reductions Housing and Economic Development will also have to eliminate the Community Housing Development Organizations (CHDO) set aside by 15% or reduce housing projects and staff as it pertains to the HOME Investment Partnership Grant (HOME). The total grant entitlement for this program is $1.9M for FY2013. These funds are utilized for the Homebuyer Assistance Program, targeted land infill projects and staff salaries. $369K was already reduced in FY2012. The known impact for FY2013 is $877,229. Police has the Project Safe Neighborhood 2011 program to address gang crime through suppression, intervention and prevention. Grant funding has been reduced from $50,000 to $5,000. The loss of this funding will tremendously reduce the ability to pay overtime to assist the Gang Unit. Additionally, the Police lost grant funding for Solving Cold Cases with DNA. Without this grant, the City does not have the extra staff and time dedicated to solving the enormous backlog of unsolved cases. The known impact is $471,962 for FY2013. The Police are anticipating other grants such as the Buffer Zone Protection program from FEMA, the Victim Coordinator grant to fund a bilingual staff person and the Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) to be reduced. Without the funding, all of these programs will hampered as a resource to the citizens. The exact budget impact Below is a chart summarizing the financial impact of the reductions in external funding. The reductions will require elimination and / or reduction in servic reductions can be mitigated if additional grants are obtained or partnerships secured. Also, Departments may consider submitting funding requests for these programs. The Cit impact the FY2013 budget. If you require any additional information, please contact Horati, Budget Officer at 817- 392-2379. Tom Higgins City Manager ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS