Council Rushes Last-Minute Grants

The Bowie City Council is poised to spend thousands of dollars in non-budgeted money on last-minute grants, including $50,000 for a DC-based nonprofit offering to send 10 Bowie students to Zambia.

At Tuesday evening's council meeting, two groups spoke, asking for money not previously budgeted for new programs, both hoping to start in a matter of weeks.

The first, a DC-located non-profit, touted a years-long program for 10 area students to participate in DC-based seminars, a half-day social hack-a-thon, and a service trip to Zambia.

The students would tentatively be selected from Bowie High School. How students would be chosen was unclear. The program would begin in less than two weeks.

Also unclear was why the group was standing up a Bowie program last-minute. Representatives for the non-profit told the council this was their first conversation with city officials, and they have never before spoken to representatives from Prince George's County or the State of Maryland.

Stranger was the swiftness with which the council awarded 100 percent funding to the group, $52,000 in all, with Councilmembers Estève and Woolfley alone in expressing reservations.

Leading the effort were Mayor Pro Tem Ndebumadu and Councilman Gardner.

City staff also appeared caught off guard, indicating at the meeting the program was not previously budgeted or discussed.

The group's funding request also came with an ask for Bowie officials to participate as mentors and volunteers to help manage and staff several of their programs.

"What are we paying them for if we're doing so much of the work," asked one resident who watched the meeting following the vote, "This feels like someone doing someone they know a favor."

Also unusual was the size of the grant. The city normally authorizes grants in far smaller amounts, typically up to $5,000, and almost always planned ahead in the regular budget process, which this year concluded in July. The program the DC non-profit offered never came up in any part of the months-long budget sessions.

The city also normally leaves grant selection to public committees which advertise funds for programs agreed-to in advance. Non-profits then apply and are considered and awarded funds based on their ability to meet set criteria.

The process is intended to be consistent and involves applications, public meetings, and a great deal of advanced warning, with the City Council only authorizing grants at the end of the process. This standard approach helps avoid favoritism and prevents officials from dolling out taxpayer money to friends.

There are over 100 non-profits operating in the Bowie area, many of which compete every year for city funding. Those that win Bowie grants seldom rely on the city to fully fund their programs, usually operating with the support of multiple partners.

"It's kind of a slap in the face," said a volunteer with a Bowie-based service group. "We work hard for our grant dollars and have to justify every penny. This group no one's heard of before comes away with $50,000 in a single night. It makes no sense."

Tuesday's meeting was the first time the DC-based group had ever interacted with city staff.

Councilmember Estève made an initial motion to have city personnel work with Prince George's County to identify multiple funding sources for the DC group. The motion was supported only by Councilmember Woolfley and failed. The remaining councilmembers stated they preferred to get the group funding right away.

City personnel are now left with the task of working with the non-profit to stand up a years-long program involving area students and volunteers who will be selected, bussed to DC, and participating last-minute with a group the city is only just meeting.

A second group requested city funds at Tuesday's meeting, this one involving a merger of two county area programs intended to combine after-school athletics with academic mentoring. They would offer services to elementary and middle school aged students, providing programs at Pointer Ridge Elementary twice a week.

The group requested the council fund their program, at $25,000, also far higher than the normal grant amount, and without prior consideration, open bid, or indepedent review.

The council authorized the city fully fund the request, with Councilmembers Estève and Woolfley alone in expressing concerns about the size of the grant and last-minute ask, noting that no other local athletic group receives direct city funding.

City staff will introduce a budget amendment at the next City Council meeting to formally authorize funds for both requests. The DC program is slated to start two days later, on September 20.

"How in the world the city is going to get a grant agreement, a budget amendment, advertise the program, recruit participants, and make sure we're covered liability-wise in two days is anyone's guess," said one committee member.

"The last-minute grant requests are unusual and unusually rushed," said a longtime resident familiar with the grant process. "There are a lot of questions about where the Zambia idea originated. I know it's an election year, but this one takes the cake."

The budget resolution funding the grants will be discussed and voted on at the next regular City Council meeting on Monday, September 18 at 8pm at City Hall.