Lacey human services panel debates how to divide $300,000 in city grants; votes to revisit on July 10

The City of Lacey Human Services Commission reviewed staff recommendations and debated how to distribute a $300,000 city-funded human services grant pool among 20 nonprofit applicants on June 26, ultimately voting to table a final funding recommendation until a July 10 meeting.

Michelle Chavez, human services staff, told commissioners, “we had 20 applications from 20 agencies … a total ask of $841,761 for a total allocation of $300,000,” and summarized staff’s analysis of scores, priority areas and six allocation options presented to the commission.

The grant program uses three city priorities: housing, survival and security. Chavez said five applicants emphasized housing needs, four emphasized survival, two emphasized security, and most proposals covered multiple priorities. The city set a $50,000 maximum award per application; no capital projects were…