Borough Grants Committee trims Camp Odyssey award, recommends full funding for other applicants

The Borough Grants Committee of the Ketchikan Gateway Borough met on April 3 and decided to reduce Camp Odyssey's FY2027 grant request by $7,246.70 and to recommend full funding for the remaining applicants to the borough assembly.

The committee entered a work session to review rating compilation forms after staff noted that the total requested funds exceeded the program funding level by roughly $7,246.70. Peter, a staff member, told the panel that the worksheet scores reflect averages from four committee members and that "the total requested funds do exceed the program funding level for this year just by $7,000." He added that the assembly will make the final funding decision, and the committee's recommendation will be included when the assembly considers the budget.

The committee discussed two basic options: approve the applications as submitted and let the assembly address the slight overage, or recommend modest reductions so the committee's recommendation remains within the $400,000 cap. Peter explained the cap comes from a formula—"6% of the prior three-year average of general fund sales tax returns"—and noted the formula would have yielded a larger allocation (about $486,000) if not capped.

Members debated several approaches for reducing awards: prorating a $7,246.70 reduction across all grantees, targeting reductions only to new applicants, or trimming amounts from fiscal sponsors. The Chair ran through example adjusted amounts under each approach for grantees the committee had scored, and committee members favored avoiding large cuts to new applicants while still observing fiscal prudence.

An audience member, Jack Yates of the Catch Again Wellness Coalition, told the committee that Camp Odyssey's event dates fall before the grant period and offered to withdraw or defer that application so the committee would not be over the cap. "The Odyssey dates are actually before the grant period starts," Yates said, and he suggested the camp could use the funding next year if removed from this year's awards.

After returning to regular session, Committee member (motion-maker) moved to reduce Camp Odyssey's funding request for FY2027 by $7,246.70; another member seconded the motion. Peter calculated the revised award would be $2,753.53. The committee conducted a roll-call vote and the motion carried with three yes votes; the committee formally recommended that reduction to the borough assembly.

The committee then moved, seconded and approved a motion to recognize and recommend full funding for the remaining FY2027 grant requests to the borough assembly; that motion also passed on a roll-call vote with three yes votes.

Committee members thanked staff and applicants for their work during the review process. Peter said the committee's recommendation will return to the borough assembly at its April 20 meeting and will be included in the budget ordinance scheduled for introduction in early May.

Next steps: the committee's recommendations (including the reduced Camp Odyssey amount and the recommendation to fully fund other applicants) will be forwarded to the borough assembly for final action on the budget.