City Council Budget Work Session   3/13/2025

WKYT

Keena, you

Madam Clerk, do you want to do the roll call?

I'll just note all counselors are present for this meeting.

Chrissy, let's kick us off, OK?

So with that, I will turn it over to Hunter, who will start with that opportunity.

If anybody has any questions or comments, I'm relatively available for those.

So it is a year long endeavor, and we are grateful for the opportunity to provide that body of work for you all consideration.

Were there any areas of discussion as you saw it in that list as the first question that I have for you?

arts and culture, arts and events versus programming.

They've been a part of a, I guess, a secondary, separate look.

The arts and culture was reviewed a little bit differently than the other programs.

I have it in the discretionary fund and those funds were then redistributed amongst other people with VCF.

The city received 80 applications for funding, including 16 from arts and cultural organizations and six applicants for arts and cultural events.

There's likely a 2026 those applications were included in the same

The first full page of the VCF report.

And now, what are you reading?

The final paragraph.

Program versus events.

The variation of six or seven may have just been a how they have self-identified, and it was a correction made.

How does Tom Tom ask us for money?

The plan would be that it would join this discretionary fund going forward.

Okay.

And if you support the idea of what I'm planning to do here, which I told you I was planning to use the discretionary fund, and this is part one, if we're done.

But is that what you want?

And then if you have any other itch that you want to scratch, then that's why I have some free money for you to be able to do that with.

But here I am.

Yes.

Are we going to hear some of that public comment tonight?

Yes, that's why they're here.

We definitely got some emails.

Got a couple, but not as much as it felt like we got last year.

I can tell it's smoothing out because it's not as much.

Until you adopt the budget, it's not done.

Co-Owner

I think this is separate from the Excel spreadsheet, but the other

Intergovernmental applications still go in through Zoom grants, so that is the software that we use, and so when Hunter pulled the proposal, you're going to see a list of all of the VCF applications plus the intergovernmental, plus the fundamental, if that makes sense.

Not all of that intergovernmental, but

They're all combined together just because that's the central place in which they apply.

Because they were important enough to get more than $0.00.

So we don't make the funding recommendations for the intergovernmental that's up to budget.

Yeah, I would assume and hope so.

Yes, they were funded.

Lloyd, I know you had some.

Do we have that as of tonight?

We didn't bring those up because we showed it in the budget changes last week, so we're not talking about those tonight, but they are in the budget book.

The grid that appears in this report.

Thanks.

If you're looking to see who was not funded, that's the place to look into the vibrant community summary document where the chart is.

Live Arts is from the middle.

Is that right?

Charlottesville's contemporary arts is intergovernmental.

Live?

I see Charlottesville Opera on this page.

That was on the beat.

Lab arts was on VCF, wasn't it, Hunter?

Right now they're categorized by type.

It is not for lack of trying that I am confused.

So I guess what's the question at this point?

So I don't have any other questions because I'm going to have to see whether the questions got answered.

Maybe that'll bring some clarity.

I'm going to beg off and say I don't really know, but I'm going to spend some more time on it now that I've got everything all together.

We can go one by one with the questions and make sure I mean other people benefit.

Michael, do you have anything right now you want to

I couldn't figure out is that supposed to be there or not just for the public's

It looked good to me, I mean honestly, it looked good to me because I know what I'm looking at, I know what to look for.

Last year we requested more specific information than we get it, now we're confused.

I probably should stick to my gut and not rely on technology, it's my typical how I live my life normally, but in this case it did not make it easier for you, so I understand that I hear it and I can repair that for you probably about a more afternoon.

But yeah.

That's a separate.

And I'll also add that the suggestions you made at the end seemed reasonable to me and I would be supportive of.

So are we going to get the hops report now?

The 96,000 available, isn't it real?

I have replacements for it.

We're going to talk about that today.

I think that's all our comments for the

and the

doesn't exist.

So with that, I'll turn over to the city manager if there's any follow up questions to some things that I covered, I'm happy to go over them.

I have a couple slides coming up next, but I wanted to just check with you to see is there anything that you have as a question on what you just heard from Antoine specifically?

And this is not something I need this budget cycle or any of us would need, but I'm curious to see over time the compliance rate of different nonprofits, because I think that would be, or recipients, I think that would be an interesting data point just for counsel to see and think about and be aware of.

When you say compliance, are you referring to our expectations of compliance?

Okay, we're getting there.

Go ahead.

For the, for BRAC, I see that they recommended $27,500, but they also have funding.

That's where I'm going next.

Okay, I was just wondering if that was an addition or inclusive.

These would be the funds available to do that with.

Is the designation and suggestion for FAR and BRAC for the greater amounts as fundamental agencies, was that decided after they had gone through this application process or

Okay, so I designated them last year.

Yeah, so the reason I ask is because I'm wondering if they like do they have to go through this process?

You would make your ask through the normal process that you would follow as a fundamental.

This is potentially the last year they would have to do that.

So that we're not causing this kind of confusion.

And then the hops process would have that funding to allocate without having to come to us and go back.

And then I ultimately make the final decision for what gets increased or not as a part of the budget proposal.

I'm supportive of it.

So that's what that is.

So you're just giving us that as prep.

Yes.

Thanks.

Questions about that?

I was about to ask a question about pathways, but I see it's the next slide.

I'm building up to something.

Thanks.

There's a need for that flexibility, I believe, because you all want to make sure certain groups are funded.

specific feedback on which number should be.

This is really giving you the information, and we'll work with you on that.

So I think there's not, I don't know if it's quite a duplication, but that's without having read the application or knowing exactly.

Now we'll go to Pathways.

What questions do you have around the community resource hotline and the pathways one?

In other words, are there requests coming in that were tapped out?

Okay.

I hope we don't have to do it, but changing the eligibility requirements.

So you would like to know if we have the ability to pull that data from our system, the ones that have already met their $2,000 max.

I'd be interested in that and I guess maybe I didn't frame my question well, but $700,000 was enough to fund all the requests that came to us this past year?

But it's been pretty tight quarter to quarter as we watch that.

But in the fiscal year prior to how did it match up?

So we also value our partners in the community that can provide more of that long-term support for residents.

Thank you.

I don't know, you know, it's just that we don't have a program or funds for you.

But we do continue to connect to other resources.

Do we say, well, here are some other places you can go and encourage them to reach out to their, you know, maybe they can pull together $200 from some family, friends or whatever.

But in order for us to say, okay, we'll process it, we just need to have sort of documentation that says, okay, everybody's sort of going in on making sure the balance gets down.

They have to show that they're going to make the whole payment in order for us to give them funding?

So that's just another decision making point when we're trying to how to balance how we allocate funds.

Could you go back a slide?

Lloyd, do you have any questions, Michael, at this point?

But I don't know exactly what the right answer would be if we needed to move forward with limiting eligibility criteria, except to say that $1,000, it seems like it won't really help your average person with a month worth of rent.

So there's some of that pathway that's in-house that our staff can refer internally.

Natalie, you haven't heard the questions right now?

Thank you.

I think we're good for you.

But essentially these are those agencies.

And that's what that process then looks like as you begin to evaluate each budget going forward.

and the BRAC funding is $250,000.

That's just what they got before your adjustments.

And that's what matches what they received last year in FY25.

No, it does not.

So what aspect of FAR's program is deemed fundamental?

and that is the reason for making them fundamental so when we put an organization in this category and the organization is looking to expand what it is that they're doing they would ask us to consider adding that to what it is that we're deeming fundamental and again keeping that out of the competitive process because we've already identified their work as fundamental and again fundamental so that we don't have to do it is really the rationale behind that.

So could an entity be deemed fundamental but still have an application going in through VCF?

So no one is guaranteed anything, but this eliminates some of the competition.

but they don't want to go through the process.

The question is to what degree?

are going to lead to Sam's next part of the presentation.

and for the choice to not to, we are dedicating funds or dedicating the opportunity to fund the work to get done.

Is that something we do or does it just get incorporated into the budget and that's that?

The approval of the renovation of the debt.

So that would be the vote.

I mean, it looks like here we're already kind of accounting for the potential payment

They would just bill us for what we're actually, what is actually due from us.

So we're setting it aside, presuming crashes.

Right, in anticipation.

Thank you.

and then the $50,000 would be cash assistance that would go along with the work that they're doing in the Inviction Prevention space.

Is this different or the same from the earlier slide?

This is different.

Oh no, that was your HA and not PHA.

This is PHA's existing eviction prevention program that they're trying to ensure that it continues because this would lead to an interruption and that's been an alarming matter for them.

Would that dollar amount be reflective of the total request or just Charlottesville's share of a request if the localities agreed to split the question?

The Charlottesville Scholarship Program made it, I'm sorry.

What is VCCI stand for?

The Virginia Central Virginia Violence Interruptors, that's what it is.

Questions.

When would you like us to give you our suggestions?

and that would be the final action in support of the budget.

So as I look at the off-cycle requests, there is no agency that is asked for money that causes me to recoil in horror, but I also don't have any real basis for knowing what it is they intend to do with that money.

I'll give that to you.

Because we are just going to have to triage what we can invest in, unfortunately.

That is eviction prevention and homeless services.

The bracket that was lost.

If we want to let them explain, I'd rather they speak to it specifically instead of because I will butcher it.

And that's in addition to the $250,000 budget?

I'll leave that to you if you want.

Miss Washington.

So anything that you can do to contribute to this program would be really helpful.

Thank you.

We may don't go too far.

Thank you.

You keep saying one more and it's like one more.

I was just saving the best for last.

We do have one now.

See?

We'll also be updating the schedule on the web page, but just wanted to make you aware.

So it's not a new meeting for us?

Council meeting.

Is the money on it?

And I'll try to lighten the agenda in case you have a lot of people who want to talk.

Hopefully, there's no increase.

And that is when you'll be able to make changes and we'll have a spreadsheet and do the math and make the magic right there.

Sorry, which date was that?

April 10th.

And the community budget forum is here.

You can read them from there, and if that's okay.

Please restate your name and your locality, or the agency that you represent.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Thank you.

Next speaker is Jen Winslow.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Kristen Dillahunt.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Kate Lambert.

Next is Marnie Bentley.

Jane Colony Mills Good evening.

Thanks.

Caprono?

Thank you for the opportunity.

So that all leads to a drop of $44,000 this year and I would really like you to consider to, sorry, I'm over, I didn't realize it, to reconsider funding these programs.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Mary Ann Doyle

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our final speaker is Judith Selzer.

At our 50th anniversary opening celebration on March 26th, we'll be having an open house and I just want to invite everybody to attend, share it with your neighbors and let them know about the services that are there and again thank you all for the work that you're doing.

Can I get a motion to adjourn, please?

So moved.

Second.

Thank you.