Nevada County CCP votes to raise innovation fund cap to $200,000 and broaden eligibility

Chair (S3) opened discussion of the CCP’s local innovation fund, summarizing staff’s estimate that the fund balance could approach $200,000 by the end of the fiscal year and noting changes to the funding request form.

Committee members debated whether the fund should remain limited to Nevada County community-based organizations serving justice-involved populations or be opened to government agencies and other entities. Several members argued that an innovation fund should support one-year pilot projects that are evaluated before being added to the ongoing CCP budget. One member raised a practical concern that a $40,000 cap would be too small to seed many government-led pilots, saying, “I would like to take the cap off” (Committee member S6).

After further discussion about statutory carve-outs and budget mechanics, Committee member S6 moved to increase the maximum available for the innovation fund to $200,000 and to broaden eligible applicants beyond only community-based organizations. Chair (S3) called for a second, then conducted a voice vote; the Chair stated the motion carried.

The committee discussed the application schedule that staff had drafted — applications due May 15, notice May 22, funding period July 1–June 30 — and agreed to add more time for review. Members asked for a subcommittee or scoring panel to evaluate proposals and for a final interview/presentation step before awards are made.

The Chair and staff said this change does not obligate the committee to spend the full $200,000 immediately; all proposals will still return to the CCP for approval. No roll-call vote or individual tallies were recorded in the transcript; the motion was carried by voice.

Next steps the CCP agreed on included revising the application language to reflect the broader eligibility, creating a scoring process and convening a small panel to evaluate submissions before full-committee action.