Pueblo leaders push to update CSAC IGA, bylaws and grant process

Pueblo County commissioners, Pueblo City Council members and commissioners of the Community Services Advisory Commission (CSAC) met in an afternoon work session to review CSAC’s role, intergovernmental agreement and bylaws and to seek clearer guidance for how taxpayer-funded grants are prioritized and awarded.

The session focused on reducing duplicated grant requests to city and county, updating a roughly 20-year-old intergovernmental agreement (IGA) that repeatedly references CDBG funds, and giving CSAC clearer priorities and procedures so the commission can vet applicants more efficiently. Gina Lopez Ferguson, a CSAC commissioner, summarized CSAC’s current work: “We are a commission that is appointed by the city and county. … We meet monthly and our purpose and role, my understanding is that, I wanna say in 02/2003, I think was when the initial resolution was created.”

Why it matters: CSAC administers a shared pool of local funding intended to support nonprofits across the city and county. Commissioners and council members said the current documents and timelines leave nonprofits and the commission unclear about priorities, application timing and how city- or county-level grant decisions should relate to CSAC recommendations. Several speakers said the pot of funds handled through CSAC is under $1 million and that the commission typically receives 30–35 applications across a wide range of needs.

Most important developments

- Governance and documents: Multiple officials asked for an updated IGA and revised bylaws that reflect current funding sources and clearly define CSAC’s scope. A county legal official noted the IGA already instructs the commission to…