Memorandum

City of Lawrence

City Manager’s Office

Date:	11/8/2006
To:	David Corliss, City Manager
From:	Casey Liebst, Budget Manager; Toni Wheeler, Interim Legal Services Director
CC:	Debbie Van Saun, Assistant City Manager
RE:	Outside Agency Agreements

Pursuant to your direction, the agreements between the City and the various outside agencies that are allocated funds through the annual budget process have been reviewed and revised. 

Background

Through the budget process, outside agencies are allocated funding from two main sources – the general fund and the special alcohol fund.  These agencies are required to sign an agreement that outlines how the funds will be used along with the reporting requirements for the agencies. 

The agreements between the City and those agencies that receive special alcohol funds differ from the agreement with agencies receiving general funds by incorporating the language of Charter Ordinance 33, which provides specific language about the use of the funds for drug and alcohol prevention, intervention, treatment, etc. 

Revisions to the Agreements

The agreements were reviewed and revised with the aim of making the outside agencies more accountable for the use of the city funds they received.

The most significant revision to the agreements was the incorporation of language unique to each agency.  For instance, each agreement now contains the goals, objectives, and expected outcomes of each agency as stated in their requests for funding.  An example agreement is attached.   

Other revisions to both the general fund and special alcohol fund agency agreements include the following:

¦ Inclusion of the agency’s mission statement;

¦ Inclusion of a statement of the agreed upon use of the funds;

In addition to the revisions, the following sections of the original agreements were retained:

¦ A statement of the exactly dollar amount of funds the agency was allocated through the budget process;

¦ An outline of the reporting requirements of the agency, including the submittal of a financial audit, tax return, and annual report;

¦ A requirement that the agency provide the City with reasonable access to financial records concerning the expenditure of City funds;

¦ A provision that the City has the authority and sole discretion to withhold any and all payments if the funds are being used in a way contrary to the terms of the agreement.

Next Steps

If appropriate, the revised agreements for 2007 funding will be distributed to the agencies for them to review and sign by the end of 2006. It is also anticipated the staff will review and revise the application materials for outside agency funding to require a clearer statement of the desired outcomes of each agency and/or performance indicators in time for the 2008 budget process.