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HomeMy WebLinkAbout8.4 Youth Fee Asst Guidlinesti~~ \ (~ -~ 1 \~:~/w' CITY CLERK File # ^~~~-~~ AGENDA STATEMENT CITY COUNCIL MEETING DATE: January 6, 2009 DESCRIPTION: Proposed Youth Fee Assistance Program Guidelines Report Prepared by Frank Luna, Recreation Supervisor and Paul McCreary, Assistant Director of Parks and Community Services ATTACHMENTS: None RECOMMENDATIO Receive the report and approve the proposed program guidelines or provide alternate direction. . ~ ,~ 1..~- FINANCIAL STATEMENT: $5,000 will need to be raised through donations to begin implementation of the program. DESCRIPTION: For Fiscal Year 2008-2009, the City Council has an objective (III-A- 18) to establish a Youth Fee Assistance Program to promote access to City recreation services by youth from financially disadvantaged households. The following is background information and a summary of the program guidelines proposed by Staff. BACKGROUND In 1993 the City Council approved a model for a Fee Assistance Program for Dublin residents; however no funding was allocated for the program. During Fiscal Year 2007-2008, the City Council had an objective to explore the feasibility of establishing a Police Activities League (PAL) chapter in Dublin to expand access to youth recreational and sports programs. At the March 31, 2008, City Council Budget Study Session, the City Council decided not to establish a PAL chapter. Instead, Staff was directed to prepare a Higher Service Level for Fiscal Year 2008-2009 to provide staffing to establish and operate a Youth Fee Assistance Program. Staff has researched similar programs offered in other communities to determine best practices. Staff used this research and the model approved by the City Council in 1993 to develop the proposed Youth Fee Assistance Program. Following are the proposed program guidelines. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- COPY TO: Page 1 of 4 n ITEM NO. ~v( • G:\COUNCIL\Agenda Statements\2009U-6 Youth Fee Assistance Program Plan.doc 1. Fee assistance would only be provided to Dublin residents ages 17 and under. 2. Fee assistance would be funded from outside sources, not the City's General Fund. 3. The program would be applicable for all Department programs for youth and teens. 4. Fee assistance would be granted for up to 75% of the registration fee. 5. Funding requests would be limited to $200 per person per fiscal year. The $200 must be used within the Fiscal Year. Participants would not be able to rollover unused funding from year to year or transfer unused funds to other members of the household. 6. Applicants must meet the HUD income guidelines for lower, very low or extremely low income. 7. Applicants must apply in writing on forms provided by the City. 8. To insure applicant privacy, applications for fee assistance would be approved by the Parks and Community Services Director or his/her authorized representative. 9. The program would be evaluated annually to insure it meets the needs of the community and is adequately funded. PROPOSED ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS As proposed the fee assistance would be available to Dublin youth 17 years and younger whose households meet certain income requirements. Staff from the Parks and Community Services Department and the Housing Division met to discuss household income requirements. Staff proposes using the HUD income limits for Alameda County for lower income households and below to determine eligibility, which are as follows: Number of Persons in Household Annual Household Income 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 HUD Extremely Low $18,100 20,700 23,250 25,850 27,900 30,000 32,050 34,100 HUD Very Low Income $30,150 34,450 38,750 43,050 46,500 49,950 53,400 56,850 HUD Lower Income $46,350 53,000 59,600 66,250 71,550. 76,850 82,150 87,450 HUD Median Income $60,300 68,900 77,500 86,100 93,000 99,900 106,800 113,700 HUD Moderate Income $72,300 82,600 93,000 103,300 111,600 119,800 128,100 136,400 Shaded area indicates categories proposed for fee assistance eligibility This is the same as the requirements for the City of Pleasanton's fee assistance program. The City of Concord stipulates that applicants need to be in the very low income category and below. The City of Brentwood uses the extremely low category. FEE ASSISTANCE LIMITS Staff recommends establishing a fee assistance cap of $200 per fiscal year per person, and up to a 75% subsidy of the registration fee. The following table compares the proposed guidelines with others in the East Bay. .. -. Dublin Proposed $200 75% N/A N/,q Donations to per person start $200 Pleasanton 50% 110 $7,234 General Fund per person $125 Brentwood per 50% 52 $1,492 Donations household 1 scholarship $1 surcharge on 50% Concord per summer and 90% 220 $13 817 registration and 1 for , fees and other times in summer donations Page 2 of 4 Staff recommends a 75% subsidy which is higher than some of the other programs. The reason for the higher percentage is that those in the extremely low income category are likely earning less than $2,000 per month and a lower level of subsidy could be a barrier to ever accessing recreational programs and fee assistance. FUNDING SOURCES As proposed no City funds would be used to provide fee assistance. Without knowing the level of demand for the program it is difficult to determine the amount of donations needed to sustain the program. Based on the demand in other cities and taking into account the size of Dublin's population, Staff estimates there would be approximately $5,000 to $7,500 in annual requests for fee assistance. With a $200 cap, this would serve from 25 to 37 youth per year. Staff recommends accepting applications for fee assistance after the first $5,000 in donations has been received, and capping it at $5,000 for the first fiscal year. In order to sustain the program, Staff must generate at least $5,000 in donations each year thereafter. In order to secure the first $5,000 to start the program and the remaining $5,000 to sustain the program, Staff intends to solicit donations from "founding sponsors" for the program. This will include local non- profit organizations, service clubs, businesses, and foundations. Additionally, if the City generates any net proceeds from the annual Dublin Community Golf Tournament those will be put into the youth fee assistance fund. Although the City is not anon-profit organization, donations made to the City's Youth Fee Assistance Program would be considered "charitable contributions" by the IRS because the City is a municipal corporation. Based on the current economic recession it is unknown the level of donations that can be secured. Therefore it is unknown if solely relying on donations will be enough to sustain the program. If funding to sustain the program became a problem, Staff could pursue other alternatives to develop ongoing funding such as: ^ Slightly increase registration fees and then on an annual basis transfer one-half of one-percent (.5%) of the gross registration fees collected for Department classes and programs (except Senior Center programs) to the youth fee assistance fund. Based on the revenue estimates for Fiscal Year 2008-2009, this alternative could generate approximately $6,000 annually. ^ Add a $1.00 surcharge onto class registration fees (except Senior Center programs) and deposit to the youth fee assistance fund. Based on the number of registrations during Fiscal Year 2007-2008, this alternative could generate approximately $12,500 annually. ^ Apply for Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds. The annual amount of funding would depend on the level of competition for these funds. Until the actual level of demand for fee assistance is known, Staff recommends focusing on securing donations for the program. If the donations are not enough to sustain the program, then Staff will bring back alternatives for the Commission and City Council to consider. IMPLEMENTATION The implementation plan was developed in acustomer-focused manner to ensure privacy, flexibility, and minimize the number of hurdles while ensuring accountability. On an annual basis those seeking fee assistance would be asked to complete aone-page Eligibility Form that would be kept on file for the year with the Recreation Supervisor for youth programs, who would serve as the Director's authorized representative to coordinate the program. The eligibility form would require participant contact Page 3 of 4 information, the names of those residing in the household, annual household income, sources of income, and proof of income such as the most recent income tax return. Once approved, participants would contact the Recreation Supervisor directly to register for programs at the discounted rate, until the $200 cap was reached for the Fiscal Year. Participants would need to re- apply each year to show they are still eligible for the program. The fee assistance program would be advertised on the City Website, in the Activity Guide, and on the registration receipts and confirmations that customers receive. Information would also be made available through the Housing Division, Dublin Police Services, and the Dublin Unified School District to try and reach youth who could potentially benefit from the fee assistance program. COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION Staff presented the proposed program guidelines to the Parks and Community Services Commission on December 15, 2008. The Commission concurred with the guidelines and unanimously recommended approval of the guidelines to the City Council. RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends that the City Council receive the report and approve the proposed program guidelines or provide alternate direction. Page 4 of 4