Report Prepared by: John Tresidder, Assistant City Clerk, City Clerk's Office
Title
SUBJECT: Adoption of Resolution to Implement a Donation and Gift Policy as Part of the City's Administrative Policies and Procedures
REPORT IN BRIEF
Considers the adoption of a Resolution to implement a Donation and Gift Policy for the City of Merced.
RECOMMENDATION
City Council - Adopt a motion adopting Resolution 2019-62, a Resolution of the City Council of the City of Merced, California, Adopting the Donation and Gift Policy.
Body
ALTERNATIVES
1. Adopt as recommended by staff; or,
2. Adopt with amendments (specify in motion); or,
3. Continue to a future meeting (specify date in motion); or,
4. Deny
AUTHORITY
City of Merced Charter, Section 200.
CITY COUNCIL PRIORITIES
N/A
DISCUSSION
Often times citizens of Merced would like to donate money, goods, or services to the City of Merced. During the economic downturn, the donations were few and far between as citizens were more conservative with their money. As the economy in Merced has improved, the City has seen a rise in individuals, businesses, and organizations wanting to donate to the City.
Currently, all donations are brought before the City Council for acceptance and appropriation to the designated expense account for use of the donated funds. In order to expedite the process, staff is recommending putting in place a policy to help facilitate this.
Staff researched policies that other municipalities use and created one that will decrease staff time and make the funding available for use in a timely matter. The policy essentially sets a threshold in which donations must come before the City Council. This will allow staff to accept, appropriate, and use the donation as intended by the donor without creating an administrative report that must be routed and approved before being placed on a Council agenda which can take an extended amount of time.
The attached Donation and Gift Policy allows for donations...
Click here for full text