NAMPA — Nampa City Council made a difficult decision Monday evening when distributing its Community Development Block Grant by not granting the Salvation Army a requested $40,000.
The city doled out $100,000 to other organizations but cut out the Salvation Army, which had received the grant money each of the past five years.
Nampa receives CDBG funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development on an annual basis. As a part of its annual process, the city must confirm that organizations meet criteria before granting funds.
The requirements are based on the federal CDBG requirements.
According to the city website, every spring, organizations go through an application process to request funds for projects that primarily benefit low- and moderate-income individuals.
Community Development Program Manager Matthew Jamison said his recommendation against a Salvation Army grant was due to the organization being deemed as non-compliant.
“We thought it would be a fairly simple and easy review,” Jamison said. “We just found some things in the review process and our on-site monitoring that didn’t quite meet the standards.”
The process begins with the review of applications. Applications are evaluated based on a scorecard, with the top-scoring applicants being recommended for funding.
According to Jamison, the city found issues with a lack of procedures for rapid rehousing and homeless assistance programs, staff turnover and case management files that failed to meet requirements.
With details being finalized, Jamison said there wasn’t enough time to make sure changes were made and that an effective process was put in place.
“The findings that we found were significant enough that I would feel better having them sit out this funding round,” Jamison said.
To become compliant, Jamison wrote that the Salvation Army will need to formalize detailed procedures, such as setting standards for case management files. The Salvation Army must share the approved policies and procedures with the city by Sept. 30.
The Salvation Army has had five years of consecutive funding from this grant, Jamison said. Jamison noted that CDBG funds are not meant to be consistent or permanent, but are supplemental funds.
While he wants to work with the organization, Jamison said it would be safest to wait until next year.
Salvation Army Capt. Allison Struck said that the organization was “well within the timeframe” and that the findings weren’t due for a few more weeks. She believed that they should have been given time to become compliant.
“As we speak tonight, there is a mother with teenage sons sleeping in a car, because there is nowhere for her to go,” Struck said.
Earlier this year , The Salvation Army of Nampa announced that it will transition its year-round family homeless shelter into a cold weather shelter, after government funding stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic ran out. The last day for residential shelter services this summer was July 8.
The original plan was for it to reopen in November and serve overnight residents during the winter.
Nampa’s day shelter remains open to everyone year-round.
“At this point, we don’t have a date for when it will reopen,” Struck said, referring to the family residential shelter.
Tom Dale, former Nampa mayor and Salvation Army board member, spoke in support of funding the shelter at Monday’s meeting. Dale has been on the Salvation Army board since 2002 and has seen the shelter consistently receive CDBG funds every year.
“There’s a tradition in this city of caring for people who need help,” he said. “The Salvation Army is dependent on it.”
Dale alleged that no other organizations were monitored by the city like the Salvation Army was.
Margie Potter, development and public relations director for the Salvation Army, also found the monitoring process to be odd. Not only have several years gone by without monitoring, but Potter said the organization should have received a warning and an opportunity to correct issues.
Jamison said monitoring of organizations depends on schedules and workload. Ultimately, it comes down to how much he can take on.
Potter expressed concern that the Nampa shelter is the only family shelter in Canyon County.
“There is nowhere for a single man and a child to go,” Potter said.
According to Potter, the grant would have covered two months of funding for the shelter.
Mayor Debbie Kling pointed out that the city could look to fund the Salvation Army through other non-federal funds.
For the time being, Kling said that it would put all CDBG funding at risk if the city grants the funds to the Salvation Army despite it being deemed non-compliant.
“I firmly believe we should not at all step into a place where we jeopardize all CDBG funding,” she said.
Kling also acknowledged that meeting requirements can be difficult and that being deemed non-compliant could have happened to any other organization.
“The work you do is so incredibly important to our community,” Kling said. “Sometimes the compliance side is extremely tedious — it’s cumbersome, it’s not easy.”
Councilmember Randy Haverfield acknowledged the importance of the Salvation Army in the community. He requested that, if the council went forward without the organization, that they should consider other forms of funding that could be granted.
“We’re talking about real individuals that are being affected by the closure,” Haverfield said. “We need to find a way to get this back and resolved.”
Jamison said the Salvation Army should be able to apply for the next round of funding in January once it meets compliance.
“We think we can work with them to review things,” he said. “... We believe we can make them compliant in the future.”
GRANT RECIPIENTS
This year’s funds are mainly being used by local programs to maintain staff and specialized positions.
Saint Alphonsus’ Meals on Wheels was rewarded $40,000 to be utilized for a program manager who organizes deliveries and recruits volunteers.
Meals on Wheels provides food to homebound seniors who often can’t shop or cook for themselves. Volunteer delivery drivers transport meals to their home, benefiting isolated seniors through social interaction and a sense of safety.
Volunteer Services Coordinator Tonia Bellegante said the population they serve in Canyon County has been on the rise.
“Due to an aging baby boomer generation, we are expecting exponential growth,” Bellegante said about future projections.
Volunteer Randall Hutchings is a retired physician who now delivers meals, sometimes visiting his former patients. In his work as a doctor, Hutchings said he has always aimed to keep patients in their own homes.
“We don’t have a whole lot of tools for that,” Hutchings said about resources.
Housing program CATCH of Canyon County was granted $28,000 to use for its staff. The program supports families by taking them out from homelessness and providing secure housing. The organization’s ongoing case management helps families make a plan and stick to it.
Executive Director Stephanie Day said they practice rapid rehousing, where the aim is to quickly move families into permanent housing. The organization works with landlords on behalf of its clients and provides rental assistance.
In 2023, CATCH housed 14 Nampa families. Since the beginning of 2024, the organization has housed 11.
The third recipient, Nampa Family Justice Center, received $33,700 from CDBG funds. The center assists domestic violence victims by connecting them with resources to get away from their abusers. This year’s funding will be utilized for a case manager housing specialist who can help relocate victims.
Later in the meeting, the council also moved to grant housing non-profit Jesse Tree $40,000 to go toward rent and utility assistance. Jesse Tree provides financial assistance and helps tenants who are at risk of eviction. Money was granted from a surplus of CDBG funds from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act.
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