Delegating application authority

Cheney’s City Council could consider an ordinance that relinquishes some of its rights to prior approval of grant applications by department staff.

During the resolutions section of the Aug. 8 meeting, Mayor Tom Trulove asked the council to possibly reconsider its current practice of granting approval to staff before applying for grants. Some of the grants coming before the council are for small dollar amounts, such as several parks and recreation department applications approved in April valued at $300 and $500.

Other grants might have short application periods, something that could hamstring department staff if those deadlines occur between council meeting times, Trulove said.

Last Tuesday was not the first time the issue has come before council. According to a May 27, 2010 Cheney Free Press story, delegation of grant application authority was part of council discussion of an ordinance that, when passed at the following June 8, 2010 meeting, gave the mayor authority to enter into contracts for goods and services without prior approval if the dollar value was $10,000 or less.

At the time, Councilwoman Teresa Overhauser raised concerns about such a move, and she voiced the same concerns at the Aug. 8 meeting. Overhauser said financial choices are policy decisions, and that allowing staff to apply for grants without prior authorization could lead to applications for goods or services that don’t fit Cheney’s “mission.”

“You can get crossed up on policy,” she added.

In acknowledging the council could always turn down a grant it felt was not in meeting with the city’s philosophies, Overhauser also said it wasn’t good practice to turn down funding it had previously sought, noting such a move wouldn’t send a good message to the funding organization about the city.

Trulove countered that he couldn’t think of an instance where staff had applied for funding for something not in line with the council or city’s interest. Overhauser replied that such decisions might not have happened while he’s been in office, but pointed out several past examples of grant applications — for surveillance cameras downtown and Tasers for the police department — that impacted city policy.

Councilwoman Jill Weiszmann said she would be in favor of Trulove’s proposal, adding she thought it “never made sense why we must approve applications for grants.” Overhauser said she wasn’t necessarily against such a move, but felt there should be considerations put on the practice, noting that it was council’s legal authority to make monetary decisions and that it had handed some of that authority to the Mayor’s Office when it passed the small contracts ordinance in 2010.

City attorney Stan Schwartz recommended city staff draw up a proposed resolution regarding delegation of grant application authority and bring it before council, possibly as early as the Aug. 22 meeting.

At the Aug. 8 meeting, council approved two grant applications, one for up to $20,000 for at grade railroad crossing safety improvements and another from the state Transportation Improvement Board for design and construction work on Betz Road between Washington to North Sixth streets. Council also approved a the receipt of $175,634 in Community Development Block Grant funding for 700 feet of 8 inch water main replacement on Oakland Street from North Ninth to North Eleventh streets.

John McCallum can be reached at jmac@cheneyfreepress.com.