Council members question community-support grant overhaul and consultant contract

St. Cloud — City staff reviewed revisions to the community-support grant program and told the council the city is phasing the program toward a capacity-building model for local nonprofits. Several council members raised concerns about the program’s cost, oversight and whether nonresidents should receive city grant money.

Procurement and grants director Leslie Flores described a three-year transition the city consultant recommended: shifting funding gradually from direct grants to capacity-building assistance that trains nonprofits to write grants, build budgets and find resources. Staff said the fiscal plan presented year two as $100,000 available for grants and $50,000 for capacity-building; year three would further shift dollars toward capacity building.

Council members sharply questioned the value of paying a consultant while grants would decline. Council member Urban said he would “not lose sleep” if the city redirected such funds to public safety and argued grants should be limited to organizations that provide essential services to St. Cloud residents. Deputy Mayor Gilbert and others urged that recipients be local and that the city require more residency or local-business ties.

Council members also noted that the consultant was paid roughly $50,000 to manage the year-two process: training applicants and the evaluation committee, operating the electronic application platform and administering scoring. Council member Paul asked staff to pause or cancel the contract; the mayor said staff should review the agreement and return to council before any termination. The city manager asked time to review the contract and bring options to the next meeting.

Leslie Flores said applicants must submit a final summary by June 30 showing program accountability and that failure to comply would make an organization ineligible for future cycles. Council members requested clearer residency criteria and asked staff to report back with options to strengthen eligibility rules, transparency and oversight.

No binding decision to terminate the consultant contract was made at the meeting; the council asked staff to return with the consultant contract details and with recommendations on eligibility and oversight for future grant cycles.