Audit committee hears Wilder preview of CIB study; applicants cite communication, equity and timeline issues

Wilder Research presented a draft preview of its evaluation of the community project CIB process to the Saint Paul Audit Committee, saying applicants and committee members raised concerns about communication, equity and an inconsistent timeline.

Dr. Bridal, the Wilder researcher presenting the work, told the committee the team conducted interviews with Office of Financial Services staff, mayoral staff, CIB committee members and applicants and compiled application and award data for the most recent rounds. "Here’s the stuff you gotta fix," Bridal said, summarizing recurring feedback from applicants and committee members.

Wilder said it has completed staff interviews and has conducted interviews with two CIB committee members so far and eight applicants; additional interviews with two committee members remain. The consultant previewed an interactive ArcGIS story map that will let committee members and residents explore applications, awards and overlays such as concentrated poverty and traffic-incident hot spots by ward and district council. Bridal described the map as a "sneak peek," saying the Office of Financial Services (OFS) staff will review the data and maps before Wilder finalizes the report.

The principal themes Wilder reported from applicants included: communication and transparency problems that create barriers to participation; uncertainty about the role of district councils; a desire for earlier and stronger department involvement (especially Public Works) in advising potential applicants; and a demand for a more structured, predictable timeline. "The timeline has felt a little hippity hoppish" Bridal said, describing repeated applicant concerns about irregular scheduling. Committee members described similar themes, saying the older, more labor-intensive process was exclusionary for some but that the newer process has not yet struck a consistent balance.

Committee members asked whether the draft report will assign responsibility for different parts of the CIB process. Bridal said Wilder will present options in the final report and will identify where the committee should discuss ownership with the mayor’s office and OFS. "There is really sort of a sense for who's responsible or who has ownership for which part of these of the process," Bridal said, adding the final report will present choices rather than single directives.

Wilder estimated it will deliver a full draft to OFS by April 4, with a presentation to the audit committee planned for the committee's April meeting; the consultant expects to finalize the report after incorporating OFS and committee feedback. Committee members and staff said they welcomed the mapping tool and suggested inviting district councils to the committee’s May meeting when the final report is presented.

The presentation included several data layers Wilder intends to make available in the story map: application counts and outcomes by ward and district council across three recent rounds; funded and unfunded projects; traffic-incident and pedestrian-safety hot spots; and concentrated-poverty overlays created in partnership with the Minnesota Compass team. Bridal said the map will allow users to filter by round and by funded status and to examine awarded projects against safety and poverty metrics.

Wilder and committee members emphasized that the materials presented were preliminary and subject to OFS review. Bridal said the report will present options for improving outreach, committee consistency, department engagement and timeline predictability, rather than a single prescriptive approach.