(Jan. 2, 2015) -- Documents sought and obtained by LBREPORT.com under state freedom of information law indicate that Mayor Robert Garcia's office was told -- but didn't tell the public or the press in media releases, mass emailings and social network dispatches -- that a $3 million "innovation delivery grant" -- that the Mayor's office proposes to control with the City Manager's office -- from Bloomberg Philanthropies will require a 1:3 local matching amount, effectively requiring roughly $1 million in locally provided funds.
The materials, requested by LBREPORT.com under the CA Public Records Act, show that Bloomberg Philanthropies clearly stated in its application materials that it requires a 1:3 local match...and the match was also the subject of an email exchange with a city management assistant preparing the grant application ultimately submitted by the Mayor's office. |
In its grant application materials and in an email exchange with the city, Bloomberg Philanthropies indicated the match can be raised during the first two years of the grant's three year term to show a commitment of "public funding." A FAQ states in pertinent part: The purpose of the matching requirement is to accelerate impact in grantee cities by generating new sources that otherwise would not have been dedicated to Innovation Delivery efforts. These new matching funds can be used to meet the expectation regarding commitment of public funding to support Innovation Delivery staff positions prior to the start of the third year of the grant, and can also be used for implementation costs associated with Innovation Delivery initiatives. Cities will be expected to match the grant on a 1:3 ratio. Another Bloomberg grant application document (Webinar 1, questions and responses p. 2) indicates private funds may also be used: Q: What type of funds can be used for the match? The materials also indicate that Bloomberg Philanthropies won't accept in-kind city services to satisfy the match. In its grant application, Mayor Garcia's office tells Bloomberg Philanthropies that the "innovation delivery" project will be a joint project of the Mayor's office and the city manager's office (and would add a staffer to Mayor Garcia's office). Although the LB Mayor's office and the City Manager don't have policy setting authority, the Garcia office application tells Bloomberg that the Mayor "sets citywide policy direction." Under LB"s City Charter, LB's Mayor has no independent legal power to set policy citywide or otherwise. LB City Charter provides that the Mayor is the "Chief Legislative Officer" but has no policy-setting vote (only a veto that 2/3 of Councilmembers can override.) Section 202 of the LB City Charter states: "The Mayor shall have no vote, but may participate fully in the deliberations and proceedings of the City Council. The Mayor...shall represent the City at large and utilize the office of Mayor to provide community leadership and as a focal point for the articulation of city-wide perspectives on municipal issues." LB Councilmembers set policy through voted actions, not the Mayor. LB's Mayor can voice viewpoints and make recommendations but has no legal power to set city policies without Council majority voted approval...but the Mayor's grant application barely mentions the policy-setting Council in text and excludes it entirely in the organizational chart it submitted to Bloomberg Philanthropies (graphic included below). The released documents don't indicate any "to-for-from" memos from the Mayor's office and/or city management to the City Council on the grant application or how its proceeds would be used and spent.
In its submitted application, Mayor Garcia's office declares to Bloomberg Philanthropies that the grant's "innovation delivery" process will be used to make "economic development" part of "everyone's job" at City Hall. It further indicates that city staff will come to "see their role as serving as a concierge to those who want to business in Long Beach." [City management has previously said it is addressing public safety (despite budget cuts to police and fire services) by making public safety a part of everyone's job in various city departments.] The grant application doesn't indicate what type(s) of economic development will be involved or in what part(s) of the city they will (or won't) be located. The documents provided to LBREPORT.com don't indicate exactly who decided "economic development" should be the focus of the $3 million grant proceeds. Bloomberg Philanthropies says grantee cities were free to select issues of their choosing which could range from [cited as examples in Bloomberg materials] crime reduction, energy sustainability, economic growth, homelessness or other broad issues of local importance. Mayor Garcia has previously said "economic development" is one of his priorities and several City Councilmembers have said likewise, but not in the context of spending $3 million in grant sums with a roughly $1 million local match of some kind. Bloomberg Philanthropies' grant application didn't require, and Mayor Garcia's office didn't specify, what types of "economic development" it has in mind or in what parts of the city it would be...and Mayor Garcia's grant application doesn't indicate a public or Council role in the process. Below is a copy of the organizational chart submitted to Bloomberg Philanthropies by Mayor Garcia's office. It doesn't indicate a Council role in using or spending the grant proceeds and doesn't indicate any routine visible means for public and press oversight of what Mayor Garcia portrays as a transformational process.
Below are salient quotes from the application submitted by Mayor Garcia's office to Bloomberg Philanthropies accompanied by LBREPORT.com's citations and comments:
Below is the budget proposed to Bloomberg Philanthropies by Mayor Garcia's office:
The grant application was prepared and submitted within a relatively short period of time. Bloomberg Philanthropies launched the application process on August 20. On September 24, a Bloomberg Philanthropies staffer emailed Mayor Garcia's Chief of Staff, Mark Taylor, and urged Mayor Garcia's office to apply for the grant. "We're definitely interested in applying," Mr. Taylor replied within minutes. The application was apparently prepared in part by a management assistant whose emailed correspondence to Bloomberg Philanthropies don't include any visible cc's. On October 3, the management assistant asked if a Bloomberg staffer "could clarify some questions we have regarding the matching requirement." [City Mgmt assistant's Oct. 3 email] When would a grantee city be expected to identify matching funds for this program? Would this be expected prior to the award of the grant? Bloomberg Philanthropies responded (with attachments also cited below): [Bloomberg Philanthropies reply, emphasis in original] We have included the information about the match to be transparent in our expectations. Your city's ability to meet the matching requirement is not relevant to our selection process. The application does not include any questions about how to satisfy the match, and applications will not be evaluated on this basis. Once selected, we will work with winning cities over the first two years of the grant to determine what qualifies as a match, and to satisfy the matching requirement. Each of the pioneer cities met or exceeded their match in the first two years of their work without problem. On October 6 (the application deadline date), Mayor Garcia's Chief of Staff Mark Taylor emailed the grant application to Bloomberg Philanthropies, In November, Bloomberg submitted follow-up questions to which the Mayor's office replied. On December 15, Bloomberg Philanthropies announced its grant awardees and Mayor Garcia and his office and city management issued media releases, email alerts and social network dispatches that failed to mention the million dollar local match requirement. LBREPORT.com only learned of this after making a state freedom of information request. Opinions / perpsective by LBREPORT.com, our contributors and/or our readers are not necessary those of our advertisers. We welcome our readers' comments/opinions 24/7 via Disqus, Facebook and moderate length letters and longer-form op-ed pieces submitted to us at mail@LBReport.com. blog comments powered by Disqus Recommend LBREPORT.com to your Facebook friends:
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