Council agrees to a future agenda to consider using housing/homeless funds for professional grant pursuit

Councilmembers on Jan. 13 asked staff to prepare a future agenda item to discuss funding for professional grant pursuit and the potential reallocation of housing/homeless funds toward grant writing.

Councilmember Ramirez said the city has limited funds dedicated to pursuing grants and suggested that investing in grant writing could yield larger returns: staff cited a contract and argued that investing approximately $25,000 could produce multiple returns in grant awards, possibly into the hundreds of thousands or more for successful applications. Council discussion referenced existing budget amounts in the pool (one figure of $25,000 was cited; at one point a figure of $255,000 was mentioned in discussion). Staff recommended a broad future agenda item to consider the use of city funds for grant pursuit and any specific reallocation of housing/homeless money.

Council agreed to place the issue on a future agenda so members can discuss parameters, eligible uses and oversight before any reallocation is made.

Why it matters: Professional grant‑writing support can leverage limited local funds into larger state or federal awards for housing and homelessness programs; council wants to consider whether reallocating local funds is the best strategy.

Next steps: City staff will prepare an agenda item explaining current grant‑writing contracts, the amounts available in the housing/homeless fund, and proposed approaches for pursuing competitive grants.