Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Budget Funds Allocation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Lynn Food Policy Council votes to dedicate GLIS-held funds to council initiatives after one dedicated meeting
Summary
The Lynn City Food Policy Council voted to dedicate approximately $11,000 of funds held by Greaterland Senior Services (GLIS) to food-policy initiatives, to be allocated following one meeting dedicated to implementation planning.
The Lynn City Food Policy Council voted Thursday to dedicate funds currently held by Greaterland Senior Services toward the council’s food-policy initiatives after a single dedicated meeting to plan how the money will be used.
The motion, passed by roll call, directs the council to hold one meeting focused on implementation and then begin allocating the GLIS-held funds toward items in the community food assessment plan. Chair, Lynn City Food Policy Council said the intent is to “dedicate the funds toward food policy initiatives after 1 meeting that is dedicated to discussing how we're going to do that,” and recorded the motion for the minutes.
Why it matters: Greaterland Senior Services has been holding roughly $11,000 identified for the council; the group stressed the need to use the money promptly because the host organization cannot hold the funds indefinitely for auditing and reporting reasons. Council members said they want to be strategic with the money given uncertainty in future grant cycles.
At the meeting members discussed options including dedicating a specific percentage of the funds to implementation, reserving a portion for branded items or administrative costs, or committing all funds to a chosen initiative. Chair noted the council can revise the motion later if needed and emphasized recording the decision in the minutes to create an administrative commitment to spend the funds.
The council agreed that the first priority for spending will come from items in the finalized community food assessment plan and that the council will use the dedicated meeting to determine which specific initiative(s) to fund and a timeline for expenditures. The motion passed in a recorded roll call with the following member organizations recorded as voting yes: Greaterland Senior Services; Leo; UMass Extension; Creative Collective; Salvation Army; Catholic Charities; Marcus Family YMCA; and the Chair.
Background and next steps: The council plans to hold its next regular meeting as the dedicated planning session and then move to allocate funds after that meeting. Members reiterated that funds held by GLIS must be spent or otherwise accounted for to meet auditing and reporting requirements.
