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Council told CSAC IGA was pulled from first reading, leaving $550,000 in limbo; councilors debate next steps
Summary
Melissa Cook told council the CSAC intergovernmental agreement was pulled from first reading and did not advance, effectively leaving the Community Services Advisory Commission without authority while $550,000 remains budgeted. Councilors urged separating the IGA from allocation approvals and discussed timelines for reconsideration.
Melissa Cook, director of the Department of Housing and Citizen Services, reviewed the Community Services Advisory Commission (CSAC), the intergovernmental agreement (IGA) with Pueblo County, and proposed changes designed to improve oversight, add administrative support and prioritize certain applicants.
Cook outlined four priorities added to Exhibit A: prioritize first-time applicants; prioritize organizations that did not receive funding the prior year; prioritize programmatic (not operating) requests; and create a carve-out for reduced-rate child care providers. She described a proposed administrative shift that would move program administration from the county to the city and include $30,000 to support a half-time CSAC administrative position.
Cook told council that the IGA presented for first reading last week had been pulled and "voted not to move forward," and said, "as of today, CSAC does not exist." She noted that roughly $550,000 remains budgeted and appropriated for CSAC allocations and asked the council for guidance on how to proceed.
Councilors warned against dissolving CSAC. Councilor Dailiff urged caution, saying CSAC exists to take the vetting burden off elected officials. Several councilors recommended separating the IGA language from the funding allocations: approve an updated IGA now (so administrative responsibility is clear) and bring allocation recommendations back later so members can address specific funding concerns without imperiling the commission.
Staff recommended starting over with a redrafted background paper and reissuing the IGA for first reading on March 23, with the allocations returned as a separate ordinance at a later date so the public notice and review process are clear. Staff also said moving the administration to the city will require drafting three dozen operating agreements and sending them to the county attorney for review, which may delay disbursement until June or July.
Several councilors said they will provide the administration with the names of recommended allocation items to pull for separate discussion so that the remainder can proceed. Staff also suggested pulling out disputed organizations so the rest of the allocations could move forward while the pulled items are reexamined by CSAC. Cook said the city could revisit the IGA and bylaws again after council direction.
Next steps: staff will redraft the papers for clear separation of the IGA and allocations, bring the IGA back for first reading (target March 23), and present the allocation recommendations later after staff, CSAC and county counsel vet the subrecipient agreements.
