Angela Rollins and Madeline Bridal of the mayor's Office of Financial Empowerment presented the city’s proposed children’s savings account (CSA) program, called Our Future Fund, to the People, Parks and Public Works Committee, outlining a universal, automatic enrollment for Rochester City School District kindergartners and a plan to seek external funding to start the program.

The presentation said the program would open an account for every kindergarten student in the Rochester City School District (RCSD), place a $50 seed deposit in each account and add a $100 equity bonus for children from the highest-poverty households. The proposal includes action-based bonuses — modest deposits tied to participation in activities such as obtaining a library card, attending health screenings, or completing free tax preparation — plus ongoing age-appropriate financial education and opportunities for parents to contribute if they choose.

“Children’s savings accounts or CSAs are a form of long-term savings or investment account that are opened on behalf of a child by a municipal government,” Madeline Bridal said during the presentation. Bridal cited national research showing CSAs can improve college enrollment, high school graduation rates and financial literacy.

Angela Rollins reviewed the local context and early outcomes from the office’s work. “Last fiscal year… we had over $1,600,000 in financial gains of our program participants,” Rollins said, and described the office’s broader work on financial counseling, small-business Kiva loans and bank-access programs used to support the CSA design.

City staff said municipalities are prohibited by the state constitution from making direct grants or loans with municipal funds; as a result, the administration is seeking private, philanthropic and state or federal grant funding to bankroll accounts. “Municipalities cannot put money into these accounts by New York State law,” Rollins told council members, noting the office’s plan to secure funding for at least the first three years before a public launch.

The presenters said they have run a yearlong community design process involving more than 300 parents and 50 organizations, and have a preliminary intermunicipal agreement in progress with RCSD for data sharing and Bank-at-School activities. Rollins said the team aims for a program launch by the end of 2025 if funding and partner agreements are secured.

Council members asked about scope and inclusion. President Melendez and Council Member Patterson urged the team to make the program inclusive of charter-school students who live in Rochester; Bridal said the initial rollout would focus on RCSD for logistical reasons but staff would explore mechanisms for other city students to opt in or be included later. Council members also asked whether state or federal funds or ARPA could be used; staff repeatedly said the constitutional restriction prevents direct municipal payments into accounts and that the city will pursue nonmunicipal funding and partnerships.

The presentation included a related pilot: positive rent reporting to credit bureaus. Staff said three housing providers — Rochester Housing Authority, Heart Homes and Rosie Property Management — had been selected to pilot positive rent reporting after a six-month training period; residents must opt in to have rent reporting recorded to credit agencies.

The committee did not vote on the CSA program at the meeting; staff said they will return with specific contract and funding requests after securing partners and grant awards.

Looking ahead, staff asked council members for help connecting to philanthropic and corporate funders and for patience as the office seeks multi-year funding to avoid a one-year pilot that would leave families without long-term commitments.