Pottsville council members agreed last week to table a vote to apply for a state grant program that could bring in $1 million in funding over the next 5 years.
A vote on applying to be part of the state’s Dept. of Community and Economic Development Strategic Management Planning (STMP) program was put off until the council’s regular April meeting, at the earliest. Council members heard from Jonas Crass, local government specialist at DCED, this past Monday as he presented an outline of the STMP program. Crass made a similar presentation to City Council last May.
The recommendation to apply for STMP came from Pottsville Area Development Corp. (PADCO), which the city agreed to bring on as an interim consultant and grant writing firm earlier this year.
Pottsville Mayor Tom Smith, who voted “regrettably, yes” to tabling a vote to apply for the grant program, described STMP as “a great opportunity for us to take a look and see how we can make things streamlined and function better.”
Councilman Jonathan Marsh also seemed in favor of applying right away but went along with the vote to hold off for at least a couple weeks. The City has until June to apply with funding available as early as July, assuming a state budget is approved by a July 1 deadline.
“It is a comprehensive program that will change the course of this city, especially with the finances,” Marsh said Monday.
STMP is a five-year program that could provide Pottsville with up to $1 million – $200,000 each year – in funding for things like technology, software, and personnel. It normally requires a 50% match from participating municipalities but Pottsville would also be claiming financial hardship and could get that match reduced to 10%, meaning it’d have to pay $1 for every $10 it received.
The first stage of the STMP program includes hiring an outside consultant who would analyze the previous five years of financial activity in Pottsville government and then create a detailed five-year financial forecast for the city along with a list of recommended action steps.
Councilman Andy Wollyung questioned why the City would need a second 5-year financial outlook when one was included with the PADCO contract agreed upon earlier this year. That outlook highlighted serious deficits in coming years for the city.
It was explained to Wollyung that the financial analysis provided through STMP would be much more detailed. After between 6-8 months working with the consultant the City hired, a 100+ page report would be prepared, which detailed the financial outlook and included recommended steps to take in response and a plan for implementing those actions.
“Completely different animal,” Smith told Wollyung.
Marsh added that Pottsville used the PADCO financial outlook to realize it needed to apply for STMP.
Councilman Scott Price told Crass he would most likely vote to apply for the grant program but needed a few weeks to review reports prepared by DCED on other municipalities that have participated in the program.
And Councilwoman Dottie Botto also indicated that she was leaning toward applying but expressed frustration with how the City has, over the years in her eyes, paid for “studies, studies, studies” but never really taken any action.
“I think very highly of DCED,” she said. “We have done this so many times with studies. I think we spend more money on studies. We need to start moving on things. I think we always go back to square one with studies. Sitting here all these years, I’m getting frustrated that we keep going back.”
How STMP Works
If Pottsville does apply for and accepted into STMP, the first step is to hire an outside consultant. DCED has a list of recommended experts who’ve previously worked within the STMP program but the City could go its own way. Crass said DCED will sit in on interviews with candidates.
Once the City decides it will apply, Crass said a Request for Proposal can go out to seek that consultant and interviews can start, even before funding is approved. Ideally, he said, the consultant Pottsville hires would be active by July.
That first stage of the program – the financial analysis – could take between 6-8 months, Crass said. It also includes audits of City government departments to identify areas where operations can be more efficient. He said it’s “often not the case” that those recommendations include personnel cuts and salary reductions.
The report prepared by the consultant could also be used in the future to help secure separate grant funding. It would lend weight to the City’s case that it was deserving of those hypothetical grant monies.
After that report’s complete, Pottsville can begin acting on the recommendations made in it. It will likely include operational and technical needs. Crass provided several examples of projects that STMP funds.
If it’s determined that a department would benefit from an extra staff member, STMP would fund three years of salary and benefits of that person if it’s determined the City can afford them after the grant money runs out. In the first year, the grant would pay for 75% of the pay, then 50% and 25%.
Software needs for departments within the City would also be paid from the potential $1 million in funding. STMP would pay the initial software cost and then three years of a subscription service but again, only if the consultant determines the City can pay for it in full after the program expires.
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