Title
Recommendation to Authorize the City Manager, or Designee, to Execute Two Agreements to Implement a Guaranteed Basic Income Pilot Program: (1) $600,000 with Operation Dignity to Serve as the Implementation Partner; and (2) $309,940 with Abt Associates to Serve as the Research Partner with Funding from American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 Funds. (Community Development 24161823)
Body
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
At the City Council meeting on May 17, 2022, staff sought direction from City Council on a proposal to develop a Guaranteed Basic Income (GBI) pilot program. City Council directed staff to move forward with the development of a pilot program focusing on low income residents and return to City Council in the fall of 2022 for consideration and approval of contracts, agreements, and scopes of work for project partners. City Council directed staff to proceed with a pilot program that would provide $1,000 per month to approximately 150 households over a two-year period. At the meeting, City Council also approved the allocation of $4.6 million from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) funds for the pilot program, with $3.6 million to be used for the direct cash payments to program participants.
Following a competitive bidding process, staff recommends two program partners for City Council approval that will work with the City of Alameda (City) to develop and implement a GBI pilot program. A third program partner, Community Financial Resources (CFR), will serve as the Financial Partner. With City Council approval of staff’s recommendations, staff will expedite the contract with CFR in the amount of $27,764, to the City Manager for approval, since the amount of the CFR contract is within the authority of the City Manager.
Staff recommends execution of agreements with two project partners (i) Operation Dignity (OD) in the amount of $600,000 to serve as the Implementation Partner for the pilot program, and (ii) Abt Associates (Abt) in the amount of $309,940 to serve as the Research Partner for the pilot program.
BACKGROUND
GBI programs provide a flat monthly cash payment to a defined population of residents. These programs are distinct from other financial assistance programs in several ways:
• Unconditional payments;
• Unrestricted payments; and
• Include regular payments for a period of time.
This flexibility empowers recipients to make their own spending decisions that best meet their basic needs allowing for dignity and self-determination. The defined period of time associated with a pilot program allows valuable data to be collected, which may help inform larger policy and program development designed to alleviate poverty.
Research indicates that GBI programs increase expenditure on education and training, improve food security, and improve measures of well-being among the recipients. The City of Stockton’s pilot program is perhaps the most well-known local example, demonstrating increased financial stability among recipients compared to a control group established to evaluate the effectiveness of the program.
At the City Council meeting on March 16, 2021, as part of the discussion regarding the recommendations made by the Community-led Committee on Police Reform and Racial Equity, the City Council approved a motion requesting action on a number of items. The motion included direction to staff to prepare a report on Universal Basic Income (UBI). At the July 6, 2021 City Council meeting, staff confirmed it would bring a report on UBI and present the finding to the City Council by March 2022.
At the City Council meeting on May 17, 2022, City Council directed staff to move forward with the development of a pilot program providing $1,000 per month to approximately 150 low income households over a two-year period supported with $4.6 million in ARPA funds and return to City Council in the fall of 2022 for the consideration and approval of contracts, agreements, and scopes of work for project partners.
DISCUSSION
On August 8, 2022 the City released three Request for Proposals (RFPs) for the following pilot program partners:
• Implementation Partner-responsible for administering the program, including program support, collection of applications from potential recipients, selection and enrollment of recipients, and collaboration with other partners on outreach and communication efforts;
• Research Partner-responsible for conducting the quantitative analysis of the program’s contribution to the financial stability of the recipients, determine the methodology for the selection of the program and control group participants, and to help secure benefit waivers from state and federal agencies; and
• Financial Partner-responsible for administering the financial aspects of the program, including distribution of the monthly payments.
The RFP process, which closed on September 7, 2022, garnered twelve (12) responses for the three (3) partner roles. Staff reviewed submitted proposals and invited the top-ranking proposers to interview with a panel composed of City staff from different departments, representatives from local community organizations, and representatives from other jurisdictions implementing GBI programs. Staff then worked with the recommended program partners to develop agreements to be considered for approval by City Council. The three recommended program partners are: OD (Implementing Partner), Abt (Research Partner), and CFR (Financial Partner). As noted above, if the OD contract and Abt contract are approved by the City Council, staff will ask the City Manager to execute the CFR contract that is within the City Manager’s authority.
Operation Dignity. Since its founding in 1993 by a formerly homeless veteran, OD has been leading efforts to provide housing and shelter in and near Alameda and Oakland. They provide a continuum of street outreach, shelter, and permanent housing in conjunction with wraparound social services. To staff the program, in addition to significant time commitments from the Executive Director and Program Administrator, OD will hire a full-time staff member to serve as Program Coordinator for the duration of the pilot program. As the Implementing Partner, OD will be able to leverage its extensive knowledge of the community and nearly 30 years of history working with vulnerable populations in Alameda, experience in tackling complex, multifaceted challenges, and building community support to serve as an effective partner in the development and implementation for this pilot program. There was recent discussion with City Council on OD’s performance with the unhoused mobile outreach team. OD struggled with appropriately staffing that program, based on low pay and other factors, and this was the primary issue with their challenges. However, OD is staffing a higher level position specifically for this program and city staff is confident in OD’s experience and higher-level staffing for the GBI program.
Abt Associates. Abt brings specific experience evaluating eight (8) other city guaranteed income pilot programs across the country as part of a collaboration with the Mayors for Guaranteed Income (MGI) and the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Guaranteed Income (CGIR). Abt will provide a full range of knowledge and experience from those programs, allowing them to compare data gathered as part of this pilot program to MGI’s national portfolio of over 30 other pilots, enabling Abt to both benchmark Alameda against those MGI cities, as well as incorporate the City into any larger cross-city analysis that occurs.
Community Financial Resources. CFR is an Oakland-based national economic justice organization that provides a pathway to financial well-being through products, tools and education that improve financial stability, protect assets, and establish a foundation to build wealth for low-income, low-wealth households, with a focus on communities of color. As the lead product provider in the country’s first two county- and city-driven guaranteed income initiatives (Stockton, CA and the County of Santa Clara), CFR is highly qualified to serve as the Financial Partner for this pilot program.
Next Steps
If City Council approves the staff recommendation, staff will work with the three program partners over the next several months to formalize the research and program design structure. This effort will include, but will not be limited to:
• Develop the program’s administrative structure, application processes and selection methodology;
• Decide upon and design distribution mechanisms for payments to participants;
• In collaboration with the Research Partner, Alameda Housing Authority, and officials from both Alameda County and the State of California, work to secure income exemptions for a range of local, state, and federal public benefit programs (such as Section 8 housing vouchers, SNAP/CalFRESH, and Supplemental Security Income); and
• Work with the selected program partners to develop and implement community outreach to stakeholders and the general public. In addition to traditional methods of information dissemination (e.g. social media, e-blasts, print media, etc.), outreach efforts may include the formation of an advisory panel and/or focus groups comprised of members of the community at-large, representatives of community organizations (including participation of the Social Service Human Relations Board Members), and members of the target population, among others. These outreach efforts are intended to both increase the applicant pool as well as raise public awareness about the City’s GBI program more broadly.
Timeline
|
Action |
Estimated Timeframe |
|
City Council to consider and approve contracts, agreements, and scopes of work for two project partners |
November 2022 |
|
City Manager to execute contract with CFR |
November 2022 |
|
Work with Research Partner to secure benefit waivers and exemptions (estimated six to nine months) |
November 2022 to March/June 2023 |
|
Work with program partners and Advisory Board to develop program structure, including: • Program administration • Application mechanism and selection methodology • Distribution mechanisms for payments to participants • Community engagement plan to general public and potential participants |
November 2022 to Spring/Summer 2023 |
|
Applications become available to the public |
Spring 2023 |
|
Launch program |
Spring/Summer 2023 |
|
12-month survey conducted by Research Partner |
Spring/Summer 2024 |
|
Interim Report presented to City Council |
Summer/Fall 2024 |
|
End of pilot program and 24-month survey conducted by Research Partner |
Spring/Summer 2025 |
|
Final Report presented to City Council |
Fall/Winter 2025 |
ALTERNATIVES
• Approve staff’s recommendation to authorize the City Manager to execute an agreement with Operation Dignity in the amount of $600,000 and Abt Associates in the amount of $309,940 using budgeted ARPA funds with the understanding that if these contracts are approved, the City Manager will execute the CFR contract.
• Direct staff to reduce the funding amount of the proposed agreements and/or amend the proposed scopes of work.
• Direct staff to explore different service providers.
• Elect not to proceed with the development of a GBI pilot program.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Funding for the agreements will come from the $4.6 million ARPA allocation approved by City Council in May, 2022 (see File 2022-1921).
The recommended program partners will be paid from budgeted funds as follows:
|
Service Provider |
Total Budgeted Amount |
|
Operation Dignity (Implementation Partner) |
$600,000 |
|
Abt Associates (Research Partner) |
$309,940 |
|
Total |
$909,940 |
As noted, if City Council approves the OD and Abt contracts, staff will route a contract with CFR to serve as Financial Partner in the amount of $27,764 to the City Manager for approval. Thus, in addition to the $937,704 proposed for the three partner contracts, payments to pilot program participants will total approximately $3,600,000 (150 program participants will receive $1,000 per month for 24 months), and $50,000 will be set aside for a Benefits Conservation Fund, leaving approximately $12,296 for project contingency funds. The total budgeted items will be paid from budgeted funds as follows:
|
Item |
Total Budgeted Amount |
|
Program Partners (OD, Abt & CFR) |
$937,704 |
|
Payments to Program Participants |
$3,600,000 |
|
Benefits Conservation Fund |
$50,000 |
|
Contingency |
$12,296 |
|
Total |
$4,600,000 |
MUNICIPAL CODE/POLICY DOCUMENT CROSS REFERENCE
This action is consistent with the Social Services Human Relations Board Charter and Ordinance authority “to improve social services in the community” (Alameda Municipal Code Section 2-11.5).
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
This action does not constitute a “project” as defined in California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines Section 15378 and therefore no further CEQA analysis is required.
CLIMATE IMPACT
There are no identifiable climate impacts or climate action opportunities associated with the subject of this report.
RECOMMENDATION
Authorize the City Manager, or designee, to execute two agreements to implement a guaranteed basic income pilot program: (1) $600,000 with Operation Dignity to serve as the Implementation Partner, and (2) $309,940 with Abt Associates to serve as the Research Partner with funding from American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 funds.
Respectfully submitted,
Lisa Maxwell, Community Development Director
By,
Eric Fonstein, Development Manager
Walker Toma, Development Manager
Financial Impact section reviewed,
Margaret O’Brien, Finance Director
Exhibits:
1. Agreement with Operation Dignity
2. Agreement with Abt Associates
cc: Erin Smith, Acting City Manager