CHARLOTTESVILLE CITY COUNCIL
                                     WORK SESSION
                                        June 22, 2021
                            Virtual/electronic meeting via Zoom


3:00 PM WORK SESSION

Pursuant to Virginia Code Section 2.2-3712, the Charlottesville City Council met in work
session on Tuesday, June 22, 2021. The meeting was held electronically pursuant to a local
ordinance amended and re-enacted on April 19, 2021, to ensure the continuity of government and
prevent the spread of disease during the coronavirus State of Emergency.

CALL TO ORDER and ROLL CALL
Mayor Walker called to order at 3:00 p.m. and Clerk of Council Kyna Thomas called the roll,
noting the following members present: Mayor Nikuyah Walker, Vice Mayor Sena Magill, and
Councilors Heather Hill, Michael Payne, and Lloyd Snook.

REPORTS
1. Vibrant Community Fund (VCF)

Kaki Dimock, Director of Human Services shared that the discussion would be instrumental in
providing guidance for how to create the 2023 fiscal year process for non-profit agencies in order
to launch the process in Fall 2021. She gave an introduction and background on continuous
improvement efforts. The city has been granting money to outside agencies since 1984 and has
adapted over the years. Many community members have helped to review applications to add
additional layers of objectivity and varied perspectives.

She shared opportunities for improvement to address points of tension from the last several
years:

                Point of Tension                                Proposed Solution
Does not allow for investments in start-ups       Create limited start-up funding pool
Does not allow for investments in solutions to    Create emerging needs funding pool
emerging needs
Council has limited faith/trust/confidence in     Establish an orientation to the VCF process for
staff or process                                  council
Does not prioritize equity needs sufficiently     Prioritize Equity
Does not include or prioritize consumer           Create mechanism for consumer feedback
feedback
Priority categories are broad                     Identify broad AND specific funding priorities
No mechanism for considering agency need for      Include agency need in application process
funding
Requests for funding are made throughout the      Manage out of cycle requests
year
Does not have baked in process for evaluating     Create multiple methods for ongoing
outcomes                                          evaluation
Does not allow for multiple year commitments      Create mechanism for making two-year awards
Essential services are subject to competition     Create an essential service category
for funding

Ryan Davidson, Senior Budget and Management Analyst, and City Manager Chip Boyles helped
to answer questions for Council.

Council discussed capacity building, timelines, criteria for supporting established non-profits and
startup non-profits, sharing resources, strategy for supporting agencies based on specific
community needs, application scoring and equity.

Council gave support of the direction of the process and gave feedback for measures and types of
data to include moving forward.

Councilors also suggested moving some services to a regular budget line item instead of having
them compete for funds annually.


2. REMOVED - Charlottesville Area Transit (CAT) Title VI
City Manager Boyles advised that this item would come before Council at a future date.


PUBLIC COMMENT
Mayor Walker opened the floor for comments from the public. There were no speakers.

Mayor Walker adjourned the work session at 5:33 p.m.

BY Order of City Council                   BY Kyna Thomas, Clerk of Council