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Public service grants microrant pilot paused; staff cite audit work and staffing limits
Summary
Committee members pressed administration and PSG staff about a $200,000 council-designated microrant pilot. Staff said the microgrant rollout is "on pause" because grant-compliance staff were reassigned to audit corrective actions and a CBA-related workload, but the PSG council and administration said they still intend to implement the pilot when staffing allows.
Committee members pressed administration and the Public Service Grants (PSG) staff on March 16 about the status of a $200,000 microrant pilot that councilmembers previously designated.
Council Member Terrence Freeman (speaking as a sponsor of prior efforts on microgrants) said the council had once set aside $200,000 for a pilot microgrant program intended to support small organizations and asked why the funding was not moving forward. Grants manager Marabel Figuro explained the ordinance and scoring mechanics for PSG, and said the administration has at times supported a minimum scoring panel of three while operationally aiming for five scorers when practical. On the microrant program itself, Figuro and administration staff said the rollout was paused because the staff member who would manage microgrants has been reassigned to address required audit corrective actions and related compliance work; staff described that as a temporary staffing constraint.
"It is the full intent of the PSG council to get that back on track and to implement the micro grant program in this budget year," an administration representative said, acknowledging the pause and explaining that internal priorities (audit corrective actions and staffing) drove the decision.
Council members said they want follow-up: some asked whether the $200,000 could be reallocated to other city programs (for example, youth or justice‑related grants) if the microrant pilot could not be implemented soon, and others urged PSG and administration to return with a plan and timeline for implementation. PSG staff said small grantees can require significant monitoring work and that the earlier program design favored a modest number of larger microgrants rather than many tiny awards because of administrative burden.
The committee advanced the priorities ordinance (which includes PSG's funding categories) with the understanding staff and council members will follow up on the microrant timeline and possible reallocation options.
