12 - Non-Profit Contracting PolicyItem No. 12
TO: Mayor, Mayor Pro Tem & City Council
FROM: Grayson Path, City Manager
SUBJECT: NON-PROFIT CONTRACTING POLICY
DATE: June 14, 2021
In February 2021, the City Council approved a new Policy for the purpose of accepting, reviewing,
and contracting with non-profit organizations in the FY21 /22 budget. For the past several years,
the City Manager's office would receive requests from many entities and would then — himself —
decide which entities to award funding to. Upon my arrival, I made the decision that it was more
appropriate that the City Council take on this role and therefore a policy was created to guide the
City Council as they made these decisions. A copy of the Policy is included in your packets tonight
for refresher purposes.
STATUS OF ISSUE:
In accordance with the established policy, the City Staff advertised for and received applications
for numerous non-profit entities during the designated time period of April 111 — May 31St. City
Staff are now processing the applications in preparation for a presentation to the City Council.
While City Staff are processing the applications in preparation for a presentation to the City
Council, the City Council needs to decide whether they would like 1) to receive presentations from
these non -profits and/or 2) would like to call a special meeting for the purpose of addressing these
non -profits. If presentations are requested, City Staff would recommend that a special meeting be
held just for this purpose. But, given the number of applications received, a special meeting is
likely an appropriate way to go as carrying out the steps of the policy will take some time in a
single night. It is highly recommended that the members of the City Council take some time
between now and this future meeting to review pp. 1-4 of the attached policy to refresh yourself
and prepare for the discussion and process. Part of the goal of this agenda item is to place this
policy back before the City Council and encourage everyone to review to prepare for this future
meeting and discussion.
BUDGET:
Today's discussion does not have any budget ramification. That will come when awarding various
non -profits a contract, which ultimately comes with the approval of the FY21/22 budget in
September 2021.
OPTIONS:
1. Determine if the City Council will entertain presentations by non -profits and/or request
their presence during deliberation for questions and answers. Note, as these are public
meetings, representatives of the non -profits are free to attend and will likely do so. If
members of the council foresee themselves asking questions, then it is best to invite all
non -profits to attend and be available.
2. Determine if a Special Meeting will be held for carrying out this Non -Profit Contracting
Policy.
RECOMMENDATION:
It is very likely that City Council members are going to want to ask questions of various
non -profits, therefore it is recommended that 1) a special meeting be scheduled and 2) non-
profits be invited to send a representative, prepare a short 5 -minute presentation and be
available for questions and answers.
f
Date Approved by City Council: February 22, 2021
Non -Profit Organization Contracting Policy
Introduction
It shall be the policy of the City Council of the City of Paris to contract with non-profit
organizations to provide services in the pursuit of public purposes that benefit the community
where the services provided by such non-profit organizations cannot be reasonably or cost-
effectively provided by the City. To accomplish this, parameters must be established to maintain
fairness, manage fiscal constraints and remain in financial compliance with the Texas Constitution
Article III, Section 52. This policy is therefore designed to provide the parameters that will guide
the City Council in making determinations towards contracting with Non -Profit Organizations.
General Guidance
It shall be the intent of the City Council that priority consideration will be given to requests that
mirror and/or compliment a service provided by the City of Paris and/or perform a public benefit
that is believed to be more cost effective and efficient than had the City of Paris itself performed
said task. Requests that are more in line with the mission and objectives of other public entities
such as Lamar County, Public Schools, and/or Paris Junior College, can be considered, but are
more appropriately redirected to those governing bodies. Services that have no clear and/or
definable public purpose will not be funded.
Given the likelihood of reviewing many worthy causes and there being differing opinions and
priorities among the members of the City Council, the following policy is designed to assist the
City Council with systematically making the tough decisions necessary to fulfill the general intent.
Consultation
The City Manager may be consulted by any non-profit organization seeking funding for the
purpose of determining eligibility per this policy. The City Manager cannot assist a non-profit
organization in the preparation of their application thereby giving an entity an unfair advantage;
however, the City Manager may provide general guidance to help define the public purpose of the
application.
Parameters
Only applications from registered non-profit organizations, whether officed in the City of
Paris or not, will be considered.
2. Only requests that have a direct public benefit to any number of the citizens of Paris will
P. O. BOX 9037 PARIS, TEXAS 75461-9037 (903) 784-9202 FAX (903) 78S-8519
be considered.
3. Applications will be accepted starting April 1st and due to the City Manager's Office no
later than May 31 st. Applications received before April l st or after May 31St will not be
considered.
4. Non-profit organizations are limited to one application each fiscal year.
5. Requests can be for, but not limited to, programming, services, capital improvements,
equipment, supplies, material, etc., so long as a the funding advances the services to be
provided under the contract and a definable public purpose is evident.
6. Requests cannot be in an amount that exceeds 25% of the non -profits' operational budget.
7. Approval of a request cannot commit the City to approval of future requests.
8. The total amount that the City shall budget for the procurement of services from non-
profit organizations shall be capped at $100,000.00 in each fiscal year, subject to Process
of Approval section 11
9. Financial assistance for non-profit organizations shall be capped at a total of $15,000.00
per organization in each fiscal year.
10. The City Attorney must provide an affirmative opinion that the use of funds as listed in
the application appears to qualify as a public purpose and that the services to be provided
by the non-profit meet the requirements of the Texas Constitution and this policy.
11. Awarded entities shall agree to and sign the City's Non -Profit Services Agreement as
written.
12. Awarded entities that fail to comply with the written conditions of the City's Non -Profit
Services Agreement will be disqualified from re -applying for future public funding
under this policy for a period of three (3) fiscal years.
Process of Approval
1. City Staff will advertise in the Paris News twice, starting in early April, the acceptance of
applications, as well as posting on the City's website.
2. City Staff will not forward an application to any entity unless request is made by the
entity during the application acceptance period.
3. Applications will be available on the City's Website or in the City Manager's Office.
4. City Staff will receive applications up until May 31 st but not before April 1 st
5. City Staff will process the application using the Parameters in this policy.
6. A presentation will be given to the City Council at the next available City Council
P. O. BOX 9037 PARIS, TEXAS 75461-9037 (903) 784-9202 FAX (903) 785-8519
meeting, said presentation to include a list of eligible applications as well as ineligible
applications for City Council review. Unless otherwise decided on by the City Council,
only those applications that were determined eligible shall be considered for the rest of
this Process of Approval.
7. The City Council may debate the merits of any and all applications upfront, but shall, at
the same City Council Meeting, as individual City Council Members rank each individual
application in order of recommended priority discussion and consideration by the City
Council.
8. City Staff shall compile the rankings of each individual City Council Member and
present the order of discussion and consideration to the City Council.
9. The City Council shall examine each application in the order of compiled ranking and
shall vote to either accept the application or reject the application prior to proceeding to
the next application on the compiled ranking list. This shall continue until the total
allowed cap of Section 8 of Parameters is reached. The City Council shall not skip any
application, but must vote to approve or reject each one in order.
10. The City Council may consider a lesser amount than requested by an applicant. A City
Council Member may make such a request of a lesser amount upon reaching the
application in the order of ranking. The City Council may debate said lesser amount. A
combination motion of approving the application with a lesser amount of funding may be
voted on. If approved, then the City Council shall proceed to the next applicant on the
list. If not approved, then the City Council can consider another combination motion of
a different lesser amount and approval of the application. If no lesser amount is
approved by the City Council, the City Council shall vote to approve or reject the
application for the original requested amount prior to proceeding to the next application
in the order of ranking.
11. If an application is ranked such that its approval would exceed the total cap of
$100,000.00, then the City Council can vote to approve a lessor amount to balance out
the $100,000.00 cap, or approve a higher amount beyond $100,000.00, but not to exceed
the total amount requested in the application or an additional $5,000.00 to the total cap,
whichever is smaller, thus a max $105,000.00 total. Any remaining balance in the total
cap shall be unused and incorporated into the rest of the Fiscal Year balancing of the
budget.
12. If a tie in compiled City Council Member ranking exists, then applications shall be
considered and voted on in order of the following criteria until the tie is broken:
a. In order of least amount of funding requested to most amount of funding
requested.
b. In order of least overall entity operating budget to most overall entity operating
budget.
c. In order of most number of years funded by the City of Paris to least number of
years funded by the City of Paris, prior to this year.
d. An entity whose primary office is located in Paris, TX.
e. If a tie remains after the above, the City Council shall vote on an order for
discussion and consideration.
P. O. BOX 9037 PARIS, TEXAS 75461-9037 (903) 784-9202 FAX (903) 785-8519
13. Approved applications will be incorporated in to the overall fiscal year operational
budget and is therefore still subject to final City Council approval. If approved, funding
will be made available upon the signing of the City's Non -Profit Services Agreement
and following the start of the new fiscal year, which takes place October 1 sc
14. Individual City Council Member rankings shall be public records.
Amendment
The City Council reserves the right, by majority vote, to amend any portion of this policy at any
time or to temporarily deviate from said policy, subject to financial and/or legal constraints.
P„ O. BOX 9037 PARIS, TEXAS 75461-9037 (903) 784-9202 FAX (903) 785-8519
Non -Profit Organization Contracting Policy
City Council Member Ranking Scorecard
Please rank on the right hand side of the following list the Non -Profit Organizations in the order
of Recommended Priority Discussion. Do not rank any two or more organizations the same.
QM_ nation
Dollar Amount _.._W.... Rank
1.
$
2.
$
3.
$
4.
$
5.
$
6.
$
7.
$
8.
$
9.
$
10.
$
P. O. BOX 9037 PARIS, TEXAS 75461-9037 (903) 784-9202 FAX (903) 785-8519
Non -Profit Organization Contracting Policy
Application
It shall be the policy of the City Council of the City of Paris to contract with non-profit
organizations to provide services in the pursuit of public purposes that benefit the
community where the services provided by such non-profit organizations cannot be
reasonably or cost-effectively provided by the City. To accomplish this, parameters have
been established to maintain fairness, manage fiscal constraints and remain in financial
compliance with the Texas Constitution Article III, Section 52. All applicants must read the
Non -Profit Organization Financial Assistance Policy as well as complete the following
information to be eligible.
Important — Please submit a copy of your agency's most recent financial statement or audit,
a detailed budget to support this request, and a copy of your Certificate of Fact — Status with
the State of Texas Office of Secretary of State.
Date:
Agency Name:
Agency Mailing Address:
Agency Phone Number:
Agency Fax Number:
Contact Person:
Contact's Title:
Contact's Mailing Address:
Contact's Phone Number:
Contact's Email Address:
Requested Amount:
Total Operating Budget:
Identification of Request:
List other sources of funding you are pursuing for this same request and the amounts:
P. O. BOX 9037 PARIS, TEXAS 75461-9037 (903) 784-9202 FAX (903) 785-8519
Check all City Departments your request is most in line with and/or compliments:
Animal Control
City Attorney
City Engineer
Community Development
Finance/Audit
Fire Marshall
IT
Lift Station
Parks/Recreation
Street
Trash/Sanitation
Wastewater Treatment
Water/Sewer
Capital Improvement
City Clerk
Code Enforcement
EMS
Fire
Garage
Library
Main Street/HPC
Police
Traffic
Warehouse
Water Production
Other
IMPORTANT: On a separate typed document, not to exceed two pages, standard type and
font, please provide the following narrative:
• Description of Project.
• Description of Need.
• Scope of Work / Methodology.
• Description of how this is a public purpose/benefit.
• How this project will benefit the citizens of Paris.
• Location/service area of Project.
• Supporting reasons for which City Department(s) your request is most in line with.
• Any other applicable details to support your application.
Have you received funding from the City of Paris in the last five years? Yes /No
• If Yes, please either attach a copy of the previous agreement with the City of Paris
or a brief description of the amount awarded, year awarded and the project.
Check Off:
• Have you read the City of Paris Non -Profit Organization Financial Assistance
Policy? Yes _ /No
_
• Have you attached a separate typed document with your narrative? Yes /No
• Have you completed the above application truthfully to the best of your knowledge?
Yes /No
• Is a detailed project budget, including columns and descriptions for allocation of
city funding and the agency's matching funds attached? Yes /No
• Is your organization's most recent financial statement and/or audit included with
your application? Yes /No
• Is a copy of your entities Certificate of Fact — Status from the Texas Office of
Secretary of State included with your application? Yes—
/No-
Signature Date
Name Title
P. O. BOX 9037 PARIS, TEXAS 75461-9037 (903) 784-9202 FAX (903) 785-8519
NON-PROFIT SERVICES AGREEMENT
STATE OF TEXAS §
COUNTY OF LAMAR §
This Non -Profit Services Agreement, hereinafter referred to as the "Agreement," entered
into by and between the City of Paris, a home -rule municipality with its offices located at 135 First
Street S.E., in the City of Paris, Lamar County, Texas, hereinafter referred to as "CITY" and
whose mailing address is , Texas
and is located in the City of Paris, Lamar County, Texas, hereinafter referred to as "SERVICE
ORGANIZATION".
WITNESSETH
WHEREAS, SERVICE ORGANIZATION possesses certain specialized expertise,
personnel, equipment, and training necessary to provide certain community-based specialized
services unique to said organization and unavailable from any other readily available source; and,
WHEREAS, CITY desires to enter into a Non -Profit Services Agreement with the
SERVICE ORGANIZATION to provide such specialized services to City of Paris and its citizens;
and,
WHEREAS, the Service Organization will provide certain specialized services as
described herein and as further described in the Service Organization's mission statement to the
community that will benefit the City by: 1) providing specialized services for which the City has
limited or no expertise; 2) providing specialized services in a more efficient manner and at a lower
cost; 3) providing specialized services under a recognized name and as a recognized source in the
community for specialized expertise in the area of said specialized services; and,
WHEREAS, the City Council finds and determines that contracting with said SERVICE
ORGANIZATION will benefit the health, safety, and welfare of the citizens of the City of Paris
in the furtherance of a public purpose;
NOW, THEREFORE, FOR AND IN CONSIDERATION OF THESE PREMISES,
and the mutual consideration as set out herein, CITY and SERVICE ORGANIZATION agree as
follows:
I. Scope of Services
SERVICE ORGANIZATION agrees to provide the following services as set forth in more
detail in the Request for Funding documents attached hereto and incorporated herein as Exhibit
"A" to CITY and its citizens during the term of this agreement:
P. O. BOX 9037 PARIS, TEXAS 75461-9037 (903) 784-9202 FAX (903) 785-8519
II. Funding
For and in consideration of these services, CITY agrees to provide partial funding to the
SERVICE ORGANIZATION, in the form of a one-time payment, in the amount of
DOLLARS AND NO/100 ($.00) to be paid to SERVICE ORGANIZATION within 30
days following an initial billing and invoice from SERVICE ORGANIZATION to CITY for said
services. Said invoice shall be in a form and contain such information as CITY shall require.
Upon receipt of the aforesaid one-time payment, SERVICE ORGANIZATION shall be obligated
to provide said services throughout the term of this Agreement.
III. Reporting
No later than ninety (90) days prior to the termination of this Agreement as provided herein,
SERVICE ORGANIZATION shall provide to CITY the following information in writing:
A financial statement, in such detail and containing such information as CITY shall
require;
2. A report of the number of citizens of the City of Paris served and directly benefitted by
the services provided under this Agreement during the previous nine (9) months of
services, or such other similar information as the CITY shall require;
3. Any other information which CITY may reasonably require.
IV. Agreement Term
This Agreement shall begin on October 1, 20_ and end on September 30, 20_.
V. Termination
This Agreement may be terminated by either party hereto at any time upon ten (10) days
written notice of termination to the other party. Such notice may be delivered personally to the
address shown in this agreement or by forwarding said notice to the other party by certified mail,
return receipt requested and shall be effective ten (10) days following receipt thereof by the other
party. If the SERVICE ORGANIZATION terminates the Agreement prior to providing all the
services required herein, the SERVICE ORGANIZATION shall refund that portion of the funding
received _ _ DOLLARS AND NO/ 100 ($; 00) on a pro rata basis.
VI. Release/Indemnification
BY ENTERING INTO THIS AGREEMENT, THE SERVICE ORGANIZATION
EXPRESSLY AGREES TO DEFEND, INDEMNIFY AND HOLD THE CITY OF PARIS,
TEXAS AND ITS OFFICERS, AGENTS AND EMPLOYEES HARMLESS FROM AND
P. O. BOX 9037 PARIS, TEXAS 75461-9037 (903) 784-9202 FAX (903) 785-8519
AGAINST ALL DAMAGES, INJURIES (INCLUDING DEATH), CLAIMS, PROPERTY
DAMAGES (INCLUDING LOSS OF USE), LOSSES, DEMANDS, PENALTIES, SUITS,
JUDGMENTS AND COSTS, INCLUDING ATTORNEY'S FEES AND EXPENSES, IN
ANY WAY ARISING OUT OF, RELATED TO, OR RESULTING FROM THE SERVICE
ORGANIZATION'S ACTIVITIES OR SERVICES PROVIDED UNDER THIS
AGREEMENT AND/OR CAUSED BY THE NEGLIGENCE, ERRORS, OMISSIONS OR
INTENTIONAL WRONGFUL ACTS OF THE SERVICE ORGANIZATION OR THE
SERVICE ORGANIZATION'S OWNERS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES OR AGENTS.
VII. Independent Contractor
SERVICE ORGANIZATION shall be considered for all purposes under this Agreement
an independent contractor, and not an employee, agent, or other representative of CITY. Nothing
in this Agreement shall change the SERVICE ORGANIZATION's independent contractor status
or create any kind of joint enterprise between the SERVICE ORGANIZATION and the CITY.
VIH. Miscellaneous
This Agreement may be assigned by SERVICE ORGANIZATION only with the express
written consent of the City Manager of the City of Paris, Texas.
SERVICE ORGANIZATION and CITY agree that the services provided under this
Agreement are to be performed in Lamar County, Texas, and venue for any and all legal actions
arising under this Agreement, if any, shall lie exclusively in the State Courts of Lamar County,
Texas and in the Federal Courts for the Eastern District of Texas.
This Agreement, and every provision hereof, shall be considered severable, and the
invalidity or partial invalidity of any section, clause, or provisions of this Agreement shall not
affect the validity of any other portion of this Agreement.
This Agreement shall be interpreted exclusively under the laws and ordinances of the State
of Texas and the City of Paris.
EXECUTED this day of October, 20_.
------------------------------------------Signature Page to Follow ---------------------------------------------
P. O. BOX 9037 PARIS, TEXAS 75461-9037 (903) 784-9202 FAX (903) 785-8519
ATTEST:
Janice Ellis, City Clerk
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
Stephanie H. Harris, City Attorney
CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS
Grayson Path, City Manager
[Name of Entity]
[Name of Authorized Representative/Title]
P. O. BOX 9037 PARIS, TEXAS 75461-9037 (903) 784-9202 FAX (903) 785-8519