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A. City of Columbia Social Services Funding Allocation Process
Hollis asked what the commission liked about the funding process and if there are any suggested changes. The commission unanimously agreed that they enjoy the site visits. Ford said the site visits seemed to go even more smoothly this year with Hollis also attending each visit. Hollis reviewed the proposal rating system. No changes were suggested.
Hollis said the Apricot for Funders system is no longer being supported by the vendor, so the Boone impact Group partners are exploring other funding management software options. The partners plan to keep the proposal and report forms the same for this year while a new product is being selected. Hollis said he will keep the commission posted don’t he process and he is certain his replacement will involve the commission in the design of the new system and forms. The commission acknowledged the current system's limitations and hopes to have something less clunky.
Hollis said he was not recommending any changes the social services funding guidelines except removing the three-payment option, which was left in the guidelines while the FY2022 contracts were in effect. Hollis discussed the change in the payment process for social service contracts from three payments to monthly payments implemented with FY2023 contracts. Under the old the payment process, there were initial, interim, and final payments. With the conclusion of the FY2022 contracts, the old payment method will be phased out and fully replaced with the new monthly invoicing process.
Hollis explained the positives and negatives of both payment options. The positive with the old system was that agencies received funding on the front end as small organizations may struggle to handle governmental contracts without the initial payment. But, the payment up front was a risk for the City because issues with deliverables weren’t identified until the submission of interim reports. The monthly in...
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