By Adam Swift
Several city councilors responded to City Manager Fidel Maltez’s efforts to increase transparency for the use of city funds by nonprofits and other organizations at Monday night’s meeting.
Last month, Council Vice President Norieliz DeJesus introduced a motion asking that the city manager work with relevant departments to develop and implement a system through which agencies, organizations, and programs receiving city funding are able to record outcomes, impact, and direct community services provided through the use of city funds. The order also asks that the system include measurable outcomes, such as the number of Chelsea residents served and the impact of the programs that can easily be presented to the city council.
“Our administration is in full agreement with this Council order and its goal of increasing transparency and measuring impact for all City funds,” Maltez stated in a letter to the city council. “Our Auditing team is preparing a report that captures the spirit of the Council order. The report will not include organizations that deliver a consumable project such as WB mason or Polar Springs.”
The report will also not include organizations that deliver a required municipal service, such as its parking vendor or trash hauling company.
For the purpose of the report, Maltez said the report will include non-profit organizations based in Chelsea that receive at least $25,000 in operating budget funds (not CPA, community block grants, or ARPA funds), and that deliver human services to Chelsea residents.
“I think this is a very important step forward,” said District 1 Councilor Todd Taylor, adding that it creates some transparency in Chelsea where little existed before and provides an avenue for the council to get a handle on its supervisory role over the public expenditures. “I think we need to do a better job at taking a look at where our money is going and what that money actually does (and) the results that come out of that spending. A lot of the time, I think we just kind of go through the motions and say, well, we have this money so let’s divvy it up; that’s now how it should work.”
DeJesus thanked the city manager for putting together a plan, adding that it is something the city council has been discussing for some time.
“As the chair of ways and means, I want to make sure that it’s not just about how we monitor the money, but also how we praise the organizations that are doing the work,” said DeJesus. “This evening, for example, we had the Chelsea Black Community and they do a ton of great, amazing work and I want to make sure that we’re able to capture not just the data and the numbers, but the stories behind the lives that these organizations are pushing forward and supporting.”
District 2 Councilor Deron Hines agreed that the transparency efforts are also a way to bolster the work being done by organizations in the community.