Human services programs in Sunnyvale that assist low-income families, seniors and the homeless will be getting a slight boost in funding from the city beginning next year.
The Sunnyvale City Council voted unanimously on Nov. 11 to increase the city’s contribution from $100,000 to $115,000 from the general fund to supplement human services funding for 2015-16.
The council also directed staff to look into basing future adjustments to the supplemental funding amount on annual change in the consumer price index.
While more than two-thirds of human services funding comes from federal Community Development Block Grants–the remainder, from city general funds–providers claim the cost of providing a consistent level of service to address a multitude of basic needs surpasses the amount of CDBG funding available for human services.
Due to a decrease in CDBG program income in 2013, each of the 2014 human service grants were approximately 2 percent lower than the previous year.
“I think we’re in the middle of a historical shift not just in Sunnyvale, but all over the country, where the funds for providing the services are coming more and more from local communities rather than from the federal government,” Councilman Gustav Larsson said during the meeting.
Mayor Jim Griffith expressed concern that in previous years, the average contribution had been about $50,000 of general fund money. The council created a cap of $100,000 to avoid seeing the number increase every year.
“I understand the need for this and I understand the value for this, but this is not our charter,” Griffith said. “Our charter is public safety, public works, library and parks, and if we do not do them, no one else will pay for them.
“We’ve had ongoing conversations about how we can’t even fix our sidewalks. This doesn’t make it any easier.”
Griffith made a motion to maintain the $100,000 contribution, but it failed with a 1-6 vote.
“I think it’s true in the past it was not in the city’s purview to support [these services], but I think it’s becoming that and it’s likely to be a permanent trend, and I think we need to talk about whether or not we should be in front of that trend,” Larsson said. “It’s falling to us to step forward and play a role.”
The council will consider the recommended grant amounts and make its final funding decisions in May 2015.
“There’s a lot of uncertainty right now around the amount of CDBG funds that may be available for next year; it will depend on congressional appropriations that will be coming up, we hope, in the next few months,” housing officer Suzanne Isé said.
At the last priority needs hearing in November 2012, the city council considered the amount of human services funding by client type and by priority need category in prior years. At that time, the council directed staff to set funding targets for each priority need category, which was to be used as a general guideline for future allocation decisions.
The human services programs are to allocate 61 percent of funding toward basic needs, including food, transportation and shelter; 22 percent for other supportive services, ranging from homeless case management to domestic violence crisis support; 14 percent toward counseling and substance abuse; and 3 percent to youth intervention.
At the Nov. 11 meeting, the city council determined the list of priority needs as determined in 2012 will continue to be implemented for the next two-year funding cycle.
Representatives from the Bill Wilson Center, Senior Adults Legal Assistance, Sunnyvale Community Services, West Valley Community Services and Long Term Care Ombudsman program at Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County all spoke at the meeting.
“The need in the community is great, and support from the city of Sunnyvale is really crucial in the continuation of a lot of local programs and services that provide the basic necessities to those who are less fortunate,” said Pilar Furlong, director of development at the Bill Wilson Center.
