2013 2:00:00 PM

Monday, March 11, 2013 2:00 PM
Sparks Council Chambers, 745 4th Street, Sparks, NV

General Business: 6.1

Title: Consideration and approval of Resolution No. 3234, a resolution establishing City policy in regards to the application and acceptance of grants and revising City policy in regards to the acceptance of donated property other than real property; and providing other matters properly related thereto.

Petitioner/Presenter: Debi Kinder/Debi Kinder

Recommendation: That Council approve the resolution establishing grant application and acceptance policy and revising donation policy for the City.

Financial Impact: None - this will impact cash flow only

Business Impact (Per NRS 237):
A Business Impact Statement is not required because this is not a rule.

Agenda Item Brief: Formal policy in regards to grant application and acceptance process does not currently exist. Current policy for donations dictates that donations of $1,000 or more are separately presented to Council while those under $1,000 may be submitted via claims and bills. The proposed resolution establishes formal policy for grants and changes the presentation threshold for donations and will improve the accuracy of required reporting.

Background: In 1997, Council approved Resolution No. 2451, a Resolution revising City policy in regards to the acceptance of donated property other than real property; and providing other matters properly related thereto. Based on that resolution, a practice of requiring departments to present grant and donation awards greater than $1,000 as a separate agenda item was established. While resolution 2451 did not speak to grant awards, the same procedure was applied to both donations and grants. Audits of Council action related to grant is used to assure complete reporting of grants and donations received by the City. Donations received for less than $1,000 have traditionally been presented by Parks and Recreation as a separate report to Council and by other departments on the report of Claims and Bills. Grant awards under the threshold have traditionally been presented on the report of Claims and Bills. Amounts over the $1,000 threshold were being presented to Council as separate agenda items for both grants and donations until very recently when procedures were questioned.

Analysis: Recently the requirement to present grants to Council was questioned which resulted in an in depth look at existing procedures, or lack thereof, and an inquiry into the desire of Council to review grant and donation awards. At a workshop on January 28, 2013, Council indicated that they would like to see all grant and donation information, but further discussion was requested to determine the method in which Council would approve. A draft resolution was presented for discussion and a couple of alternatives were suggested. The revised attached resolution indicates that; In regard to donations: • The donation threshold for determining Council presentation methods is $5000. • The method of reporting and approving donations below the threshold will be via a quarterly report of grants and donations which will list the organization and the amount donated. A sample staff report of grant and/or donation receipts is attached. • The method of reporting donations at or above the threshold will remain unchanged and be via an individual staff report prepared by the department receiving the donation. In regard to grant applications: • The City Manager is empowered to approve grant applications where matching costs are less than $50,000. • Council will approve grant applications where matching costs are $50,000 or greater. In regard to grant awards: • The grant award threshold for determining Council presentation methods is $5,000. • The method of reporting and approving grant awards below the threshold will be via a quarterly report of grants and donations which will list the organization and the amount granted. A sample staff report of grant and/or donation receipts is attached. • The method of reporting grant awards at or above the threshold will be via an Individual staff report prepared by the department receiving the grant. This resolution establishes City policy in regards to the application and acceptance of grants and revises the City policy in regards to the acceptance of donations.

Alternatives: Council could approve the resolution establishing City policy in regards to the application and acceptance of grants and revising City policy in regards to the acceptance of donated property other than real property. Council could determine a threshold for grants and /or donations other than $5,000. Council could direct staff to request approval of grants and /or donations below the threshold in a method other than the sample report of grants and donations. Council could direct staff to report grant and donation receipts below the threshold more/or less frequently than quarterly. Council could ask staff to incorporate the various decisions into a new resolution to be presented for approval at a later meeting.

Recommended Motion: I move to approve Resolution No. 3234, a resolution establishing City policy in regards to the application and acceptance of grants and revising City policy in regards to the acceptance of donated property other than real property; and providing other matters properly related thereto.

Attached Files:

Resolution to revise grant - donation policies revised 2 4 13.pdf

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