Weatherford mayor urges clearer rules for outside-agency grants; council asks staff to draft amendments

The Weatherford mayor led a work-session discussion on May 1 about the city’s outside-agency grant policies, asking staff to draft formal amendments and asking legal counsel to advise whether Downtown Weatherford Inc. qualifies for hotel-motel (tourism) funds.

Don Brooks, the city’s chief financial officer, told the council that outside funding is meant "to supplement or offset a specific public service provided by the city," and that grants are awarded at "the city’s council discretion." Brooks summarized the city’s existing requirements for applicants: they must be 501(c)(3) organizations with a headquarters or branch in Weatherford, directly serve Weatherford residents, have operated at least three consecutive years prior to the grant period, have no outstanding legal actions, demonstrate financial solvency if the grant is denied, match funds dollar-for-dollar, not subgrant those dollars, not use the money for overhead, and spend awarded funds within one year. Approvals require a majority vote.

Brooks also described the city’s current funding limits: general-fund grants are capped at $5,000 per organization with a $25,000 total annual limit; hotel-motel (tourism) funds have no per-organization maximum but must meet state statutory requirements. He said the city awarded $30,000 from the general fund and $155,000 from hotel-motel funds in FY24.

Council members pressed staff on how to apply the $25,000 cap if more qualified applicants apply than the cap would cover. Mayor Pro Tem (speaker S3) noted the policy does not specify an allocation method and suggested adding a formula to ensure consistent application from year to year. "If all of the organizations meet the requirements, we would need to add something to the policy so that we stay consistent in how we apply the policy," the mayor pro tem said.

Councilmember Matt (speaker S5) urged caution about expanding city support for charities. "At a fundamental level . . . charities ought to be supported by individuals," he said, while acknowledging that many nonprofits perform services that save city resources and can justify public funding. Other council members agreed that some organizations—such as those that free police officers for other duties or that demonstrably bring visitors into the city—provide direct benefits the city may want to support.

The council also debated whether to convert the existing informal guidelines into a formal policy. One council member said staff would be better positioned to answer to the public if the rules were formally adopted rather than left as informal guidance.

A separate thread of the discussion focused on whether Downtown Weatherford Inc. meets the state statute governing hotel-motel (tourism) funds. Mayor Pro Tem S3 said he reviewed the statute’s intent and its synopsis and emphasized that hotel-motel funds are intended for activities that "put heads in beds," arguing that the downtown organization’s stated mission may not align with that statutory purpose. The mayor said that under the city’s local policy the organization currently appears to meet the city’s criteria, but the council needs a legal interpretation on whether hotel-motel funds are a permissible source for that group.

The council did not take a formal vote. Instead, members asked staff to prepare an amended policy for council review and directed legal counsel to issue a clear interpretation of the hotel-motel statute as it applies to Downtown Weatherford Inc. The mayor instructed staff that he expected a more streamlined, management-led financial analysis than in previous years and that any proposed policy changes should be on the council calendar by the June 11 meeting (or the second June meeting) so FY25 applications can be processed on schedule.

The work session closed without formal action on changes to the policy; staff will return with proposed amendments and counsel’s interpretation before the budget cycle advances.