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CSAC recommends $955,500 in grants for 2025; councilors press for transparency and audits
Summary
The Community Services Advisory Commission recommended allocations totaling $955,500 for 2025 at the Jan. 13 Pueblo City Council work session, prompting councilors to question award scaling, funding sources and the treatment of organizations with audit findings.
The Community Services Advisory Commission (CSAC) presented its recommended nonprofit awards for 2025 at the Pueblo City Council work session on Jan. 13. CSAC chair Gina Lopez Ferguson and Interim Housing Director Melissa Cook reviewed the commission's process and the recommended allocations from a $955,500 portfolio.
"The portfolio for 2025, we were provided with, dollars 955,500 total to allocate," Gina Lopez Ferguson said, summarizing the funding available and noting CSAC received 30 grant requests and held site visits and interviews as part of the review process.
CSAC said it prioritized requests and attempted to align awards with historical funding levels to "minimize harm" to longstanding grantees. CSAC representatives said roughly four applications were not recommended for funding and that decisions were influenced by the limited pool; the total amount requested by applicants was roughly $1,500,000, CSAC said.
Councilors asked for detail on how CSAC reduced requests (for example, Steel Works Center requested $40,000 and CSAC recommended $10,000) and whether CSAC conducted site visits for every applicant. CSAC said site visits were divided among commission members based on availability and that members recused themselves where bylaws required.
Several councilors pressed on the source of the funds. Staff said $490,000 was included in the city's non-departmental budget line item; the overall CSAC funding is governed by a 1992 intergovernmental agreement (IGA) with Pueblo County and may include or allow for federally restricted sources such as Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) dollars that carry prescriptive uses.
Councilors raised questions about several specific recommendations. Mariposa was a focal point: CSAC recommended $145,000 for 2025 after city/CSAC awards of $113,000 in 2023 and $108,000 in 2024; the city also provided a $70,000 GAP payment during 2024. CSAC members and the mayor noted Mariposa had a negative audit finding cited as a concern in the mayoroffice's decision to recommend no non-departmental city funding this year. CSAC said it considered audit information when making recommendations but also weighed community need.
Other large capital requests, such as a $325,000 ask from Hublot Diversified Industries, received no CSAC funding because CSAC prioritized immediate operating needs and lacked resources to meaningfully contribute to capital projects.
CSAC members asked council to provide clearer guidance, landscape analysis or data to inform future prioritization and noted that participatory grantmaking gives community-appointed volunteers discretionary authority to make funding recommendations.
No formal vote on CSAC recommendations occurred at the work session. Councilors indicated they would follow up with the county and consult legal staff about the IGA and the timing of CSAC recommendations during the city budget process.
