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Council clarifies neighborhood‑organization grant rules after public confusion
Summary
After public concern about wording in the grant application, council clarified that neighborhood‑organization grant funds may pay for community newsletters, meeting notices and events (including mailers to residents) while continuing to prohibit candidate endorsements; staff will update application materials and FAQs and reopen the window.
Santa Monica’s City Council voted to clarify how neighborhood‑organization grants may be used after residents raised questions about application wording. The council instructed staff to revise the application and publish an FAQ explaining permitted uses, including community education mailings, meeting notices and event promotions. Councilmembers emphasized that public funds cannot be used to endorse or promote candidates for office, but that neutral informational outreach (including mailers to residents beyond an organization’s membership) is permissible.
City Attorney staff and the City Manager said the clarification is intended to reflect the council’s earlier unanimous direction and to remove ambiguity that led several groups to opt out of the grant program. The council directed staff to reopen the application period to allow groups time to confirm eligibility under the clarified language and to accept applications from other organizations that can meet neighborhood outreach and fiscal reporting requirements.
Staff will also publish a brief demographic‑collection form for neighborhood‑organization boards (voluntary for individual respondents) and will update guidance to show that final grant awards will be allocated based on the city’s resident‑count formula among participating groups or, if some neighborhoods are unrepresented, distributed among eligible applicants by formula. Council members asked staff to make the FAQ and application language as simple and explicit as possible to avoid further confusion.
Council action: motion to update grant guidance, publish FAQs, reopen the application period, and allow applied funds to be reallocated if certain neighborhood groups decline the grant; motion adopted by voice vote.
