Owasso council increases hotel‑tax appropriation to fund record number of neighborhood grants

The Owasso City Council on March 18 approved a budget amendment to increase FY2025 hotel‑tax fund appropriations by $12,000 to fully meet neighborhood grant requests and authorized payment to the Wasatch Community Foundation to administer the program, up to $62,000.

Jerry Fowler, who presented the item, said the Russell Strong Neighborhood Initiative’s grant program is funded from the city’s 2% hotel‑tax revenue and that 24 applications this year (20 neighborhood grants plus four fire‑hydrant‑painting applications) requested a total of $67,131. Fowler said available funds include the FY2025 appropriation of $50,000 (originally $30,000 plus a $20,000 carryover) and roughly $5,400 in prior-year unused grant balances, leaving about $55,004.86 available; if all current applicants are approved, Fowler recommended the city add $12,000 from excess prior‑year hotel‑tax collections to meet the total need.

Fowler said the grant program is administered by the Wasatch Community Foundation under a city contract for services and that applications are reviewed by the foundation using the program’s guidelines. Council members asked about historical application counts (Fowler said the previous record was 15 applications) and about grant caps; Fowler said the program typically funds about 28–35% of total project costs and that the foundation evaluates applications before issuing payment. Council approved both the budget amendment and the authorization to pay the foundation; the council vote was recorded as unanimous.

Separately, staff asked the council to authorize payment of the foundation invoice so the fund is available when the foundation approves awards; council approved authorization to pay up to $62,000, with the invoice to be adjusted if applications are withdrawn prior to funding.