Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Arts Funding topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council and staff weigh updates to CARE tax thresholds and application timing
Summary
Staff proposed raising CARE tax grant thresholds, moving the application timeline earlier in the year and changes to advance payments for repeat grantees; council asked for follow-up work and protections for legacy major grantees.
City staff proposed procedural and threshold changes to Orem’s CARE tax grant program during the Jan. 14, 2025 council meeting, recommending earlier application timing, higher award thresholds and new handling for repeat grantees that have demonstrated prior compliance.
Staff said the current grant-category thresholds date back roughly 18 years and do not reflect inflation or current program demand. The recommended changes would move grant application materials earlier in the calendar (applicants submit in February, advisory meetings in March) so awards can be reflected in the tentative budget, increase the thresholds that separate mini/mid/major awards and allow qualified repeat grantees with satisfactory compliance history to receive awards in advance rather than by reimbursement.
Council and staff also discussed how to protect long-standing major grantees (for example, the city arts center) while creating paths for other organizations to qualify as major recipients. Council asked staff to work with the Strategy & Innovation team and legal counsel to craft clearer criteria and consider how excess CARE tax receipts above budgeted amounts could be used to expand major-grantee capacity without reducing existing major recipients’ share.
Staff will return with proposed ordinance or policy language and an implementation timeline; council did not adopt formal rule changes at the meeting.
