05-17-2022 Council Minutes - SpecialCITY OF
vFederal Way_T
CITY COUNCIL
SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES
City Hall — Council Chambers*
*remote attendance available via zoom
May 17, 2022 — 5:00 p.m.
1. CALL MEETING TO ORDER
Mayor Ferrell called the meeting to order at 5:01 p.m.
City officials in attendance: Mayor Jim Ferrell, Council President Linda Kochmar, Deputy Mayor
Susan Honda, Councilmember Erica Norton, Councilmember Hoang Tran, and Councilmember
Jack Dovey.
Councilmember Jack Walsh participated remotely via zoom.
Councilmember Lydia Assefa-Dawson joined the meeting at 5:07 p.m.
City staff in attendance: Interim City Administrator Brian Davis, City Attorney Ryan Call, and
City Clerk Stephanie Courtney.
2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
Mayor Ferrell led the flag salute.
3. STUDY SESSION — HUMAN SERVICES GENERAL FUND GRANTS
Community Services Manager Sarah Bridgeford provided information regarding the Human
Services General Fund Grants which assist the community in providing services for residents
with low to moderate income. These grants support an array of services from food and shelter
to employment and education. Funding grants comes from the city's General Fund and
Community Development Block Grants (CDBG).
Both grant sources have Council -approved strategies that generally follow the CDBG strategic
planning cycle. Ms. Bridgeford reported on the three strategies adopted by Council in 2019
which include:
a Address basic needs including housing, health and hunger;
• Promote individuals and community safety through prevention, intervention and
crisis services; and
• Promote services that foster stability and self-sufficiency for families and
individuals.
She provided information on two options for funding which include a generalist approach
(currently used by the city) or a special approach which would have a narrow focus and few
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May 17, 2022
programs eligible for funding.
The current grant level of funding from the General Fund is $536,000, which funded 41 grants.
These grants supported services including crisis services; domestic violence services;
employment and education; food access; health services; housing; resource access and
referral; services for population -specific (people with disabilities, refugees and immigrants, and
seniors); and a wide array of services for children, families and youth.
She provided graphs and information on the dernographic changes regarding income and
poverty, offering a snapshot over the last ten (10) years for Median Household Income across
Federal Way and King County areas. This information also provided data for food stamp
recipients over the last ten (10) years. Ms. Bridgeford also provided Census data and
demographics for the city according to the Census reports for 1990, 2000, and 2010.
Ms. Bridgeford continued the presentation offering information regarding the Human Services
Funding Collaborative (HSFC) which includes sixteen participating cities. All cities in the
collaborative use one grant application which makes applying for grants easier on the
organizations. She covered the various methods of determining grant funding jurisdictions use,
and touched on the intersection between anticipated 2023 General Fund grant funding and the
population increase. This included per capita investment with Federal Way and Renton scoring
the lowest on the range.
She provided recommendations for 2023-2024 which include:
Increase general funding for grants, implementing a per capita formula with CPI
escalator starting at $7 per capita, and
Increase staffing, adding a second coordinator
Council thanked Ms. Bridgeford for the presentation and asked clarifying questions regarding
the city applying for grants to offset the General Fund, and which cities the per capita chart
reflected for comparison.
Additional questions inquired to the funding process for cities who are not direct entitlement
cities, how other cities derive their funding levels, and how much of the funded amount is paid
to cover administrative and overhead costs.
4. ADJOURNMENT
There being nothing further on the agenda; the special meeting was adjourned at 5:42 p.m.
Attest:
Steph nie Courtney
City Clerk
Approved by Council: OW07[ U'1Z
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May 17, 2022