Pilot revenue committee backs Collins Center study, recommends DLS grant application

SPRINGFIELD CITY — The Springfield City pilot revenue committee voted unanimously to recommend that the mayor hire the Collins Center to design a policy and program for voluntary pilot agreements with tax‑exempt institutions, submit a Department of Labor and Services grant application to fund the work, and engage the Long Institute to study community benefits provided by health institutions.

The committee’s recommendation came after a presentation from Jay Latorre, a committee member, who said, "the proposal to contract and work with the Collins Center is for $30,000" and that the center’s work would take "about 7 months start to finish." Latorre described the Collins Center’s scope as data collection on existing pilot agreements, planning and negotiation‑strategy sessions with city staff and committee members, and a series of meetings to review findings.

The Collins Center proposal, as summarized at the meeting, includes initial planning meetings to set expectations, research and data collection on current pilot agreements, negotiation training sessions for city personnel, and a project team of municipal‑experienced professionals. Latorre said the proposal anticipates mostly virtual meetings with at least one in‑person strategy session and that the city would need to share information with the consultant to support the research.

Nut graf: Committee members said the work is aimed at creating an implementable, voluntary program for collecting payments from tax‑exempt entities to bolster city revenue. Councilor Davila, the committee chair, noted the effort’s purpose plainly: "why is this important? Because this, 1, we need money. And 2, this affects, at the end of the day, not only services, but also your property taxes as well." The committee also discussed community outreach, legal support and the timing of a required report to the full council.

Committee discussion and next steps

Members debated how best to involve residents and the institutions that could be asked to participate. Several councilors urged community meetings to build awareness and gather feedback before or alongside the consultant’s work. Councilor Cliff Rose said the committee should hold multiple in‑person meetings to ensure transparency and allow constituents to weigh in. Councilor Whitfield and others suggested the committee itself could begin community Q&A sessions in advance of, or in partnership with, the Collins Center to collect resident concerns and ideas.

Committee members discussed which entities would be included in any pilot program. Latorre and staff noted that the Collins Center recommended approaching all large tax‑exempt institutions but that treatment could vary by assessed value. The committee asked staff to clarify whether churches and smaller nonprofits would be included; staff said churches were removed from an earlier dataset but discussed scenarios in which very large religious institutions might be treated differently.

Funding and legal support

The committee voted to recommend that the mayor apply for a DLS grant to offset consultant costs. Latorre said the committee will apply in August and that grant awards are first‑come, first‑served once the state budget is finalized. The Collins Center fee was presented as $30,000; a separate smaller proposal from the Lum (or LUM) Center was discussed at roughly $2,500, and committee members referenced a possible total request "up to $50,000" to cover consultants and related expenses, subject to the mayor’s approval.

Councilor Davila proposed three motions: to recommend hiring the Collins Center to develop pilot processes and negotiation strategies; to recommend that the mayor submit a DLS grant application (up to $50,000) to fund the work; and to recommend hiring the Long Institute to study community benefits provided by area hospitals and colleges. Councilor Davila moved the motions; Councilor Blake Bruce seconded. Committee members present voted unanimously to recommend all three actions to the mayor. The vote was recorded as unanimous among the committee members present and the motions were characterized as recommendations for the mayor’s action, not binding approvals.

Legal and schedule considerations

Committee members asked staff to consult the city solicitor about whether DLS grant funds could cover outside legal counsel; a committee member recommended estimating hours and rates for the solicitor or an outside attorney to attach to the grant proposal. Members noted a committee report to the full council is expected by the end of the year and expressed concern that the grant and consultant timeline could extend beyond that deadline. Latorre reiterated the Collins Center’s timeline of roughly seven months and said staff would work with the mayor’s office and chief administrative/financial officers to submit the grant quickly when the state budget allows.

What was decided

- Recommendation to mayor to engage the Collins Center for a $30,000 contract to develop pilot agreement policy and negotiation strategy (recommendation approved by committee).

- Recommendation to mayor to submit a Department of Labor and Services grant application (up to $50,000) to fund consultant work and related tasks (recommendation approved by committee).

- Recommendation to mayor to engage the Long Institute to study community benefits provided by health institutions and, where possible, colleges (recommendation approved by committee).

Ending: The committee agreed to begin planning community engagement and to ask the mayor’s office and relevant departments for any existing reports from hospitals or colleges about community benefits. Staff were asked to follow up with the city solicitor on legal‑support cost estimates for the grant application and to coordinate with the mayor’s office on the August grant timeline.