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HomeMy WebLinkAbout25.10.15 - Minutes, Comm Organization FundingOFFICE OF GRANT MANAGEMENT Washington County DIVISION OF BUDGET & FINANCE Community Organization Funding Committee CO) Meeting in person and via zoom October 15, 2025 Members present: Lee Downey, Dr. Boyd Michael, and Shannon McKinley Staff present: Maria Kramer — Chair, Carsten Ahrens - Senior Grant Manager and Julie Mackereth I. Opening - Welcome • Maria called the meeting to order at 3:00 p.m. and welcomed everyone. II. Approval of Minutes — February 12, 2025 A motion was made by Lee Downey; seconded by Dr. Boyd Michael to approve February 12, 2025, minutes as written: motion approved III. Citizen Participation • None scheduled IV. Receipt of Communications Maria read several thank -you messages from organizations that had received funding through the COF. The messages expressed sincere appreciation for the Committee's continued support and highlighted the positive impact the funding has had on local programs and services. V. Report of Chairperson Maria shared the goal for her and Carsten was to conduct on -site visits to the organizations that receive funding to ensure the funds are being spent as intended. To date they have visited several of those organizations. 100 West Washington Street, Suite 16011 Hagerstown, MD 21740-4885 1 P: 240.313.2040 1 Hearing Impaired: 7-1-1 WWW.WASHCO-MD.NET Staff and committee members discussed revamping the grant report to include more detailed information on how the funds were spent, with the goal of increasing accountability and transparency. VI. Old Business • None VII. New Business • Election of Vice -Chairperson of the COF Committee: ➢ Accept nominations — The Director of Grant Management serves as the non- voting standing chair. In their absence, the Vice -Chairperson is responsible for conducting the meeting. ➢ Conduct election — Dr. Boyd Michael nominated David Yohman for the position of Vice Chairperson. As David was not in attendance, Maria will reach out to him to confirm whether he accepts the nomination Lee Downey made a motion to elect David Yohman as Vice Chairperson, which was seconded by Dr. Boyd Michael. On October 21'' Maria ernailed David asking if he would accept the nomination. • Discussion of the 1-108 List 1-108 List - Public Local Laws of Washington County, Maryland Under Section 1-108 of the Code of the Public Local Laws of Washington County, Maryland —commonly referred to as the "1-108 List" —nonprofit organizations must be included on this list to be eligible for consideration for Community Organization Funding (COF). Organizations seeking to be added to the list must submit their request to the County Attorney's Office. Applications are then presented to the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) for final approval. This year, 12 organizations have requested to be added to the list. As of now, the BOCC is still in the process of reviewing the applications and has not yet finalized its decision. This delay in finalizing the 1-108 list may impact the scheduled release date for the grant application, as only organizations approved on the list are eligible to apply for Community Organization Funding. • Fiscal Year 2027 application review and submittal process Maria shared that the application includes several notable changes and updated processes. These updates will be outlined in the Notice of Funding Availability Letter (NOFA), as well as in the revised guidelines and application checklist. She asked the committee for their thoughts and suggestions regarding the updates to the application process. • Discussion of implementation of a scoring rubric Carsten Ahrens, Senior Grant Manager, introduced a rubric that outlines the maximum scoring points for each criterion in the COF grant application, using the application score within each funding category to help guide funding decisions in a more objective and consistent manner. • Discussion of BOCC concerns regarding funding allocations Maria shared, she had met with the BOCC, and one of their concerns was the duplication of services among several organizations. • Committee recommendations to the BOCC The committee's recommendation to the BOCC that the allowable percentage for shifting funding between service priority categories be increased to 20 or 25%. Alternatively, the committee suggested eliminating the service priority categories altogether to allow for greater flexibility in funding allocations. VIII. Committee Member Comments • There were no committee comments at this time. Maria informed the committee that she will be reaching out with updates. She has another meeting scheduled with the BOCC to discuss further developments. IX. Adjournment Lee Downey motioned; seconded by Dr. Boyd Michael; to adjourn the meeting; motion approved at 3:51p.m. Next Meeting Date: To be determined Respectfully submitted, Julie Mackereth Senior Office Associate OGM Approved By: Date: ' Maria Kramer, Chairperson