City sets aside general fund, Penny for Pinellas revenue for grant program

Since 2015, the city has set aside Penny for Pinellas money and cash from the city's general fund to subsidize multiple projects through the Neighborhood Partnership Grants program.

The program was eliminated by former Mayor Bill Foster in 2013. Mayor Rick Kriseman promised to restart and fund the program.

"As mayor, I will encourage effective and influential neighborhood associations by funding the Neighborhood Partnership Grants program."

The Neighborhood Partnership Grants program allows organizations or groups to apply for grants up to $20,000 to fund specific improvement projects in their neighborhoods. The grants are a matching program, which means applicants must match the requested funds with volunteer hours (valued at $24/hour), in-kind services or cash.   

In Foster's final budget, funding for the program remained at zero, but that changed the next year. The city allocated $175,000 in Penny for Pinellas money for the grants in 2015 and 2016; $0 in 2017 because there was money left over from 2016; and $75,000 in 2018, according to the approved fiscal year budgets.

The city also set aside money from the city's general fund for projects that cannot be covered by Penny for Pinellas, which can only can be applied to infrastructure projects, such as improvements to the stormwater system.

The amount of funding has outpaced the demand for grants in recent years. Susan Ajoc, the city's director of community services, said 17 projects have received funding since 2015.

This means there's still a pool of Penny for Pinellas money from 2016 available for grants. Ajoc said there are several neighborhoods working on applications for that 2016 money, but none has been submitted for review.

Some notable projects over the years include a debris boom in Mirror Lake that helps contain floating trash and a new playground in Historic Kenwood that will be built especially for 5-year-olds.

In addition to the Neighborhood Partnership Grants program, the city also has given out more than 100 grants through the Mayor's Neighborhood Mini Grants program. This program was set up to pay for community gardens, neighborhood picnics, cleanups and other events with a maximum award of $500. The grants come from the city's general fund.

We rate this Promise Kept.