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Supervisors refine application language for $100,000 community-services grant pool; keep award flexibility
Summary
County staff presented edits to the county's community services grant application and evaluation criteria and supervisors directed modest wording and scoring changes while retaining flexibility on award sizes and final allocations.
County staff and supervisors discussed edits to the Black Hawk County community-services funding application and evaluation rubric during the June 24 board meeting, with staff proposing clearer language about the pool size and application expectations and supervisors asking for flexibility on award sizes and improved prominence for ineligible items.
Michelle (county staff) said the draft packet now explains public purposes, requests disclosure of funding sources and encourages applicants to review the scoring rubric before applying. "She felt it was important that we disclose to the public how much the pool of money is that they're requesting," staff said, noting that the draft left blanks for the final number but suggested a $100,000 planning figure while allowing discretion on award sizes.
Supervisors debated whether to cap individual awards and how prescreening should work. Some supervisors said they preferred not to hard-cap awards at a low number so the board retains the ability to fund larger, high-impact proposals. The board asked staff to make a few wording changes: add "social" when listing economic/community development impact (to read "economic, community or social impact"), make ineligible items (capital acquisitions/equipment) more prominent, and clarify that the application evaluation will use the provided scoring rubric. Staff said they will return a revised draft for final approval and aim to post the application shortly after board review so the application cycle can begin in early July.
Why it matters: The county's competitive community-services awards direct discretionary county dollars to local non-profits and programs. Clear application language and transparent scoring help applicants target requests and help the board evaluate requests consistently.
What’s next: Staff will incorporate the agreed edits, highlight ineligible items, attach the scoring rubric to the public application materials and return for final approval; the board indicated a desire to begin the application cycle in early July.
