Council to shift grant review work to advisory boards to reduce volunteer burden

Council members and staff discussed changing how recognition group applications are reviewed, shifting much of the workload from a centralized grant review panel to the city’s advisory boards (PRAB, Scribe, AAB, youth and senior advisory committees, and others). Staff said using advisory boards could reduce the time burden for volunteer reviewers while keeping local expertise in the decision chain.

A staff member described the practical approach: "We make those decisions every year when we choose lead readers for the grants," and said advisory boards could be given a structured worksheet with consistent criteria. Council member Pompey said she supported the direction, calling the proposed approach “a little less intense” for volunteers and praising the memo staff prepared. Several council members asked staff to return with a plan for how applications would be assigned to boards and how consistency would be ensured.

Council members discussed tradeoffs: distributing applications can reduce each volunteer’s load but could reduce cross‑application context that a small centralized panel provides. Staff proposed providing a common worksheet and training material to mitigate inconsistency. The council asked staff to present a pilot approach and to consult the advisory boards before formal policy change.