*Authorize grant agreements for the four nonprofit neighborhood District Coalitions to support Neighborhood Associations and community engagement activities from July 1, 2021 through June 30, 2022 in the amount of $1,470,994

The City of Portland ordains: Section 1. The Council finds: The impact of COVID-19 on the City’s resources are unprecedented, unpredictable and long lasting. Per Resolution No. 37487 adop ted by City Council on May 20, 2020, the City’s responses to COVID-19 will be accountable and responsive to achieving the City’s equity and climate action goals. These grant agreements provide financial and limited staff resources from the City of Portland Office of Community & Civic Life to the four recognized District Coalitions per City Code 3.96 to provide such services by which the people of the City of Portland may effectively participate in civic affairs and work to improve the livability and character of their Neighborhoods and the City. There has never been a competitive or open bidding process for these contracts since the inception of the Neighborhood Outreach and Support program in 1974 (47 years). These non-profit neighborhood District Coalitions have been the sole contractors with the City of Portland for this program since 1974. In 2019, the Office of Community & Civic Life presented a report on the inequitable funding distribution between District Coalition offices as directed by Council. This topic had been examined for decades with no changes. Actions taken in FY 2018-19 reduced but did not eliminate the funding disparity. Coalition funding per resident (using 2015/16 population figures) for the then-five nonprofit and two city-staffed District Coalition offices ranges from nearly $6 per person to $3.12 per person, in declining order: Central Northeast Neighbors, Neighbors West Northwest, Northeast Coalition of Neighbors, North Portland Neighborhood Services, Southwest Neighborhoods Inc, Southeast Uplift and East Portland Community Office. A total of $1,470,994 in General Fund dollars is allocated in the Office of Community & Civic Life’s FY 2021-22 approved budget for distribution of these grants as part of the Neighborhood Outreach and Support Program. This reflects a one-time increase for small grant programs run by the four non-profit District Coalition Offices. NOW, THEREFORE, the Council directs: a. The Director of the Office of Community & Civic Life is authorized to execute grant agreements on behalf of the City to the four non-profit neighborhood District Coalitions in the amounts listed in the table below. The Director is authorized to execute the four grant agreements in a form similar to the grant agreement template attached as Exhibit A. Grantee FY 21-22 Funding Total (including small grant funding) FY 20-21 Base Funding Total (No small grants in FY 20-21) Central Northeast Neighbors $296,150 ($20,395) $274,695 Northeast Coalition of Neighborhoods, Inc. $322,763 ($30,512) $292,251 Neighborhoods West/Northwest $314,754 ($30,620) $284,134 Southeast Uplift Neighborhood Program, Inc. $537,327 ($61,971) $475,356 TOTAL $1,470,994 $1,326,436 b. The grant agreements also shall comply with City Policy ADM-4.03 - Standards for Neighborhood Associations, District Coalitions, Business District Associations and the Office of Neighborhood Involvement. c. The Mayor and City Auditor are hereby authorized to pay the grant funds from the General Fund. d. The competitive solicitation requirements in City Policy FIN-2.04 are waived as applied to the grant agreements authorized by this ordinance. Section 2. The Council declares that an emergency exists due to community service and funding disruptions caused by the COVID pandemic; therefore, this ordinance shall be in full force and effect from and after its passage by Council.