Human services year‑end report: $4.8M budget, food bank expansion and Scottsdale Cares rollout planned
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Summary
City staff reported a $4.8 million human services budget that closed the year $343,000 under budget and described food‑distribution and housing‑assistance totals; the commission heard about Scottsdale Cares’ planned Jan. 13 council presentation and a January pilot placing a caseworker at the Civic Library.
Mike Murphy, business and analytics manager for the city’s library and human services division, presented a year‑end review to the Human Services Advisory Commission on Dec. 17 showing a $4.8 million human services budget and a $343,000 favorable variance for the last fiscal year.
"When the year was said and done, we came in $343,000 under budget," Murphy said, and explained the division groups expenses into personnel, contracts, commodities and capital. Murphy said part‑time hour use varied by center and that some negative variances reflected conscious staffing decisions to distribute CARES/CAP funds.
Murphy detailed food‑program metrics: 3,175 brown bags distributed to seniors, 809 TFAP boxes to 615 unduplicated recipients, and an aggregate distribution of roughly 548,617 pounds of food valued at about $1 million. He said a food‑bank dashboard is being developed to provide near‑real‑time data collection and reporting. Commissioners asked whether donated vs. purchased food could be separated in reporting; staff said they would attempt to provide those percentages.
On housing assistance, Murphy said the city helped 212 people last year with rent and mortgage aid totaling $584,000; Maricopa County CAP provided $465,000 to 142 individuals. That assistance was funded through a mix of city, county and nonprofit sources, and Murphy identified Scottsdale Community Partners as a frequent program sponsor.
In the director’s report, Mary (identified in the meeting as interim human services director) highlighted staff recognitions — Vista Del Camino staff received a continuous learning award and Jonathan Montoya received the Bill Donaldson award — and outlined outreach and senior‑center events. Mary said a Scottsdale Cares presentation will go to mayor and council on Jan. 13 with a tentative rollout date of July 1, 2026; staff plan to place that item on the consent agenda but will be available for additional presentation if requested.
Mary also described a pilot starting in January that will station a caseworker from the career center at the Civic Library once a week for low‑barrier case management and referrals. She said the pilot is intended for information and referrals rather than frontline homelessness navigation, which is handled by partner navigators.
Commissioners praised the expansion of the food bank and asked staff to provide an unduplicated count of residents served year‑over‑year, saying that resident counts are more helpful than tons of food when judging impact. No formal action was taken on the report; commissioners were asked to prepare for upcoming grant‑request reviews early next year.
