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Council approves $350,000 TOT grant NOFA; raises single-grant cap and tightens process
Summary
Council authorized a Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for the Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) community grants program, capping the round at $350,000, increasing the individual grant maximum to $75,000, and instructing staff to limit awards to about 12 organizations to ensure timely contracting and oversight.
The council approved staff’s recommendation to release a capped $350,000 Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for the 2025 Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) grant program, adjusting program design based on last year’s experience.
Maurice Baker, who presented the item, said the city received robust interest in the prior cycle and recommended focusing administrative support on a smaller set of grantees (target no more than 12) while increasing the maximum single award from $40,000 to $75,000 for longer or more complex programs. “We are proposing that council approve a capped notice of funding availability of $350,000 this year,” Baker said.
Councilmembers discussed prioritization (by program area), the composition of the community grants review panel, and trade-offs between the number of awards and award size. Several members favored maintaining staff discretion and general program-area guidance rather than artificially narrowing applicant types. The council adopted the resolution to issue the NOFA with a $350,000 cap, authorize the community grants review panel to score applications, and permit the higher maximum award amount for 2025.
