HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023-03-07 Transcription Page 1
Council Present: Alter,Bergus,Dunn,Harmsen, Taylor, Teague
Council Absent: Thomas
Staff Present: From,Jones,Kilburg, Goers, Fruehling,Platz, McMahon, Sharif,Havel,
Knoche, Sovers,Hightshoe,Davies, Ogden,Fleagle
USG: Zeimet,USG Liasion,LeFevre,Alternate Liaison
1. Johnson County childcare wage supplement program presentation (strategic plan
action: Enhance Access to affordable childcare for all populations through
innovative partnerships with higher education, non-profits,and the business
community)
Teague: Well,welcome to the City of Iowa City work session for March 7th, 2023. It is 04:00
PM and we have,um,kind of some interesting things on our agenda that we've been
waiting for. Item 1 is the Johnson County Childcare Wage Supplement Program
presentation and there are a slew of partners that will be presenting today and so, I'll have
you all introduce yourselves but I think we're gonna be starting with,uh,Jennifer.
Jennifer Banta,welcome.
Banta: Well, thank you and I appreciate your time and attention for this Wage Enhancement
Program. So I wanted to start out. I -I know that I've spoken to some of you in the past at
the-the joint meeting,but I wanted to start out with giving you a little bit of history about
the Child Care Coalition. So in 2019, a group of 65 of us gathered in Merge. That was
pre-COVID,where we felt comfortable being 65 in Merge. Um,but we came together to
discuss,um,how we could increase access to high-quality, affordable childcare. And,
um,really when I put out the call for this meeting, I thought maybe 10, 15 folks would
show up. We packed the room,um, and we had so many folks there from the childcare
indus- industry. We had government officials,we had concerned citizens,parents,um,
and so we were all focused on finding solutions to the childcare problem. Well,you all
know what happened next. A few short months later, COVID hits, the pandemic hit and
we had to pivot. And,um,what we did during that pivot was we started meeting weekly.
Megan was part of those calls. The school district childcare providers. We all started
meeting to discuss what the,um,major issues of the day were. Sometimes it was finding
whole milk,um, sometimes it was finding masks or disinfectant. But what really came
out of those meetings was,um,that we really started to build trust. And there were a lot
of people at the table, a lot of different groups at the table,um,that were all focused on.
How can we support working families and children,um, during this-this time? So,um, in
the summer of 2021,we got back together,um, at Open Heartland to discuss what our
next steps could be,um, and where we should focus our energy. And at that meeting,we
really decided,um,that we needed to focus on,um,building up that childcare workforce.
So,um,we wanted to also strengthen our business partnerships and investment from the
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work
session of March 7, 2023.
Page 2
business community. And we wanted to,uh,build that pipeline of childcare workers and
childcare entrepreneurs and really promote the early education industry as a valued
profession. And I think at the end of the day what we decided was that to do all of those
things,what we needed to focus on was increasing wages of our childcare workforce.
And you'll,um, -you'll hear later,um, some of the really staggering statistics around
what the child care workforce,uh, currently makes and how it's not really a living wage
in any stretch of the imagination. So that's why we decided to focus on that. So I have a
group of amazing coalition builders behind me. They are all individually a force to be
reckoned with. So bringing them all together to focus their energy and attention on this
has really been one of the major joys of my career so far. So we have Missie Forbes from
4-C'swho worked hard to develop an Earn and Learn program for English language
learners in partnership with Kirkwood Community College. She also worked with
Kirkwood on developing a high school childcare development academy,um,with the
Iowa City School District. Lynette Jacoby and Laurie Nash from the- from Johnson
County Social Services worked along- alongside Sam Turnbull from Johnson County
Empowerment to survey 43 childcare centers and gather valuable information that helped
us informed the- inform this project. And you'll be hearing from her,um, from Lynette
later about that. Um, at the end of the day,we came to realize that we really needed to-to
focus on increasing wages for our childcare workers,but we didn't know how that would
be financially,uh, s- sustainable. So Jacklyn Fleagle from the City of Iowa City,um,
helped us work on those financial models to really,um, calculate out and do the math,
which is not my strong suit. Um, and figure out how we can make this project,um,
sustainable for the long term. And then of course,we had Shelly Maharry,who is
hosting,um,the fund through the Community Foundation,um, and has given us the
support we need to,um, develop that fund. And then Lisa Williams from, uh,the school
board,who is focused on wrap-around care for our pre-schoolers,which is also very
important project. Um, and then lastly, Cady Gerlach who joined the team to,um, - from
Better Together 2030 to help kind of project manage and then continue the fundraising,
um,process for us. So I'm excited for you all to hear about the Wage Enhancement
Program,um, and the incredible collaboration- community collaboration that has really,
uh, gotten this project launched. And I know that,um,this awesome group of women,
we've all felt the sting of childcare in our past. And we feel very committed individually
and as a group to address this issue for working families in the future. So with that, I'll
turn it over to Lynette Jacoby so she can tell you more about the data that she collected.
Teague: Welcome.
Jacoby: Good afternoon. Thank you for having us today. So I have the task of talking with you
about the data,um,which can sometimes be a yawner,right?Uh,but this is some really
compelling information. And the one thing about,um,the data behind childcare is that it's
there. We have a lot of raw data that helps make our point for us. Um,the data,um,really
speaks for itself,um, in terms of need,um, our need for quality, accessible, and
affordable care in our community. I want to talk to you a little bit about the specific,uh,
data points for Johnson County. Uh, in Johnson County,we know that 73% of all famil-
families with children under the age of- of six have all parents work in the workforce.
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work
session of March 7, 2023.
Page 3
Um,the State of Iowa consistently is a leader in the nation in terms of having all parents
in the workforce. We also know that we have over 22,000 children in Johnson County
under the age of 12. Yet,we only have a mere 9,000 and some change of childcare spaces
available to serve those children. We continue to see a slide in the number of slots
available. So last year alone,we lost over 400 childcare slots in Johnson County,which
was a 12 perc- and we had a 12% decrease in childcare programs within the last five
years. The good news behind that, if you can find good news, is that slide is slowing
down. Um,just in 2014-2019,uh,there were 20- a decrease of 24% loss in childcare,uh,
uh, centers during that five-year period. So we-we have seen a slowing,but
unfortunately, it continues to decline. Um,we also-whoopsie,here we go. Um,we also
know that,uh, child care professionals are,uh,the lowest,um,paid workers of any
tracked profession. And keeping in mind,this data is specific to Johnson County. So
Johnson County childcare workers make on average $11.16 per hour,just around $23,000
annually in Johnson County. So the cost of care in Johnson County is the highest in the
State of Iowa. It's 32%higher,uh,than the state average of$214. In Johnson County,that
cost of care is two-just over $282 a week for a total of$14,705. So the impact on a
family in Johnson County, a family earning medium,uh,the area median income,which
is around $100,000,uh,would spend about 15% of their income,uh,to cover care for one
child, an infant. So you can imagine what that would-uh,what that percent of their
income would be if they had two children or if they are a lower-income family,uh,
earning much less than the area median income, it almost puts childcare or does put
childcare out of reach for many households. Just in the last year, infant care,uh,
increased 11% in Johnson County and 19% over the last five years. We know that the
Affordable Care is considered,uh,no more than 7% of household income. So we
certainly are far beyond that. So as-um, if we look at the cost of childcare for a family of
two or two children,uh, if there was an infant and a toddler in the home,the weekly cost
of care or wee-monthly cost of care would be just over $2,000 for an annual cost of over
$26,000. That's just two-and-a-half times,um, the cost of college tuition for resident in-
state tuition at the University of Iowa. So as we began to address this at the county and,
uh, looked at utilizing our ARPA funds at investing in the childcare crisis within our
community,we thought it was really critical that we survey childcare centers and speak
with directors to obtain feedback on what they saw as the biggest needs and also to get
some,um, current information on the state of care,uh, in terms of availability,who the
centers were serving,um,how many,uh, staff openings they had,how many classrooms
were closed,um, due to insufficient staff,uh,how many centers were accepting state
childcare assistance,to what degree where they accepting state childcare assistance. So
we launched into a pretty lengthy survey,uh,with these childcare centers to gather all
that information to make sure that we were making the most meaningful investment,uh,
with our onetime ARPA funds. So Laurie Nash is going to share with you the outcome of
our survey,uh, and the results that we gathered through that process.
Teague: Welcome.
Nash: All right. Thank you. So I also have data. I'm going to try to-to spice it up a little bit,but
it's data. So we identified-we looked at the Department of Human Services and identified
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work
session of March 7, 2023.
Page 4
all of the licensed childcare in Johnson County. We took out 30 before and after-school
only programs,um,because those are only offered before and after-school for school-age
kids. Um, and we know that infant care is a huge need. So that left us with 52 licensed
childcare programs in Johnson County. Uh,we called every single one of them and we
were able to speak with 42 out of the 52. So we had a pretty good,um,rate. We had 81%
of the programs that we actually spoke with. Um,we had 43 questions that we asked and
our interviews averaged about 30 minutes,with some of them being,you know, 15 and
some of them being over an hour long. Um,we found that doing the interviews in-person
helped us to clarify questions and also allowed them to ask us questions. So we feel like
we got really good data because we were able to clarify and make sure that we were
being consistent with all of the folks that we spoke with. So what we found, and I know
that when this changed fonts,we got a little- a little funky here. What we found was that
of,um,the programs that we surveyed,they have the capacity for 4,254,um, students,
kids. And that,um,ranged from very small centers that have a licensed capacity of 20,up
to large centers with a licensed capacity of 297. So there's a lot of variety in what type of
childcare is available. When we pulled out preschool only, so,um,just,you know,two-
and-a-half,three hours a day,um,that left us with a full time capacity of just over 4,000
slots.Now,when we look at,um, how childcare centers operate,not all of them want to
enroll up to their full licensed capacity. Um, I kind of liken it to when we applied for a
mortgage,they said you're eligible for this-this much of a mortgage and we said we can't
afford that much,right? So this is what we say we can do. Um, and that's what these
programs have had to do. They've had to say,you know, I know legally we're licensed for
this much,but that's not what we're able to,um,to do and- and still provide high-quality
care. So we looked then at how many slots were filled and what is their idea of,um, of
being full, at what point. So, er,what we found was that,um, in total including preschool,
there were 2,949 slots that were available for full-time care- or for- for all care?Full-time
was 2009- 2797 filled slots. Um, in addition,there were 1,240 open slots. There are lots
of reasons that slots are open and we'll-we'll talk about that a little bit. Um, the difference
between all of the slots and just full-time is just 217 slots. So it's not a huge-huge
difference. Um,we have wait lists and those are,um, a little much. Uh,we have, of the-
of the total 42 programs, over 1,800 students on a wait list.Now families might be on a
wait list at more than one center. So that does not necessarily mean that we have that
many actual children,but that is getting close to the need,um. That's how many our wait-
list is. Um, of those five programs have wait lists of 100 students or more. Um,those five
programs account for just over $1,100- 1,100,um, students on the wait-list. We have 30
programs that had wait-list of less than 100,totaling 699. So again,we've got some really
big centers with really big waiting lists and we have some other smaller programs. So
what we see here then is the shortage. Um,this looks at full-time slots. This looks at full
time slots. So right now,we have 1,240 open slots in our childcare. Um,we have a wait-
list of 1,500, or 858. What we found is that if we look at the open slots and the available
slots,we actually have 618 too few slots in the community to serve families. So on the
bottom, if we serve- if we filled all the empty slots, that would be 1,240. There's still 618
that would not be able to participate because there aren't slots. Part of the reason that slots
are open is because there are over 100 full-time staff in these 42 childcare centers in
Johnson County, and another 66 part-time staff openings. So that's a lot of staff that
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work
session of March 7, 2023.
Page 5
programs are waiting for. And as you know, childcare works off of ratios. So if you don't
have a staff in the room,you have to have fewer children. The fewer staff the fewer
children you are able to serve. So I'm going to try to talk through this one now. If all of
the current empty slots are filled, it leaves us with a wait list of 618 kids. However, some
of those 1,240 can't be filled because we don't have enough staff. So if we look at our
actual capacity right now,we have the capacity to serve 710 kids,which leaves 1,148 not
served. So even filling all of those empty positions isn't going to address the entire wait
list but it sure makes a big difference. As the- as Lynette and- and Jenny alluded to
earlier,wages in childcare are low. We looked at average wages for classroom assistance
or associates and then for lead classroom teachers. At the top you can see starting average
and maximum. And then at the bottom you can see the wage ranges. So starting wage for
classroom associate is anywhere from $10 an hour to $15.75 an hour. When you look at
the maximum range for a lead classroom teacher,that goes all the way from $11 an hour
to $35 an hour.Now that $35 an hour seems like a whole lot. But it's important to note,
well,relatively speaking,right. But it's important to note that most of those classroom
teachers, if not all,who are making a greater wage are also the center director. And so
many programs,the center director is also a classroom teacher because they're short
staffed and have to have them in the classroom.We asked whether or not programs had
ways-raised their wages in the past year because we know that many programs did as a
result of the pandemic and- and the inability to keep staff. Thirty five of the centers had
raised their starting wages in the past year. It averaged about $1.48 an our with those
raises. The increases were anywhere from 50 cents an hour to $4 an hour for those who
did it,who gave us that information. Others said they increased it anywhere from 8-12%.
So they were already increases and we still had a great staff shortage. Most of the
programs just couldn't afford to do additional increases. So then let's think about tuition
because Lynette talked about that a little bit. You can see here infant tuition is greater
than a four or five-year-old. Some programs bill weekly, some programs bill monthly.
And that's why there are two charts on here. But weekly average is pretty high for an
infant. Um, for those billed weekly, it's $293.22 a week. For those billed monthly, it's just
over $1,200 a month. That is not very attainable for many folks in our community. And if
you think about individuals who themselves are making $15 an hour at Target or,you
know, $18 an hour in some of the other better paying jobs that we have,this is just not
not attainable. Some families are eligible for childcare assistance and the state just
increased eligibility for childcare assistance. So on March 1st of this year, eligibility
increased from 145% of the federal poverty level to 155% of the federal poverty level.
And I had my data, I- I will tell you what that means for a family of four. I had that, and I
don't. Um,the child care reimbursement rates do not get to what we need in order to pay
the programs that are in our community. So,um, for example, for a regular childcare
center who is not in a quality demonstration program,they would be reimbursed $232.10
a week, and this is an increase that just happened March 1st. So we're really excited about
it. The rates went up,but it's still less than what the market rate is for childcare in
Johnson County. And then if you want to look at high-quality childcare,programs that
are in the Quality Rating System at a level 5,they're getting higher reimbursement up to
$240 a week. However,they are usually the ones that cost more as well. And there's not
necessarily a correlation between cost of care and quality of care,but there is some
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work
session of March 7, 2023.
Page 6
expense involved in being part of a quality demonstration program. One of the things that
we know is that children and families with lower incomes do much better in higher-
quality programs. All kids do better in higher-quality programs,but for children of lower
incomes,the difference is much more noticeable. For those kids there's a big difference in
the outcomes in learning social emotional skills and being ready for kindergarten.
Alter: Laurie, can I interrupt just for a moment, ask a question. Um, I'm trying to go back in my
memory. And isn't it true that with the childcares that do take CCA, that they cannot, and
that there's still a gap in the reimbursement costs between what they're getting from the
state and then what their operating cost is or what they're charging for the week. They
cannot pass that onto their full paying,right. So they're absorbing that cost. Is that
correct?
Nash: So that just changed.
Alter: Oh, It also changed.
Nash: July 1st of 2022 there was new legislation that does allow childcare centers to pass on
some of that cost to families. Most of the childcare centers that we surveyed said they
were not planning on doing that because they recognize that if families could afford to
pay childcare in the fust place,they probably were not eligible for childcare assistance.
And that it's- it's a burden on families and makes it really difficult. We did ask about that
and we asked about plans to do that. As we get into the- a program a little bit,there'll be
additional opportunities to talk about that,but that is one of the things that we're trying to
avoid. So when we talk about our weight incentive program,um, it's for programs that
are not passing those costs on to families.
Alter: Thank you.
Nash: So when we look in Johnson County,we have 32 centers that accept childcare assistance.
So 32 out of the 42 that we spoke with. Of those, 16 have caps on the amount of childcare
assistance,uh,the number of students with childcare assistance who they will provide
services to. The caps go from anywhere from one student per classroom; some of the
programs only offer childcare assistance for the staff who work at that childcare center.
Um, and some of them will have higher caps, especially if they have access to other state,
city and federal funding. The highest cap that we heard was 30%,but that is a program
that had a lot of access. Some programs don't have a formal cap,but they said they kinda
keep an eye on it,you know,they manage it as they go. But a very real issue is that it is
hard to find childcare for children on state childcare assistance. And we have enough of a
demand in our community that if a center does not want to do that,they can usually still
be pretty full. So one of the things that we're trying to do is also incentivize programs to
take more kids on childcare systems. All right. So we did talk about solutions. Missie
Forbes from 4Cs is going to come up unless there are other questions for me. All right.
Thank you.
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work
session of March 7, 2023.
Page 7
Teague: Thank you. Welcome.
Forbes: Hi. Thanks for having me. Um, so these again are the partners involved in the Wage
Enhancement Program and I will just kind of walk you all through,um,what we're doing.
What we want to do is we want to give two dollars an hour to,uh,um, qualifying
employees,um, on top of what they already make. So,um,we,uh,kind of broke down
the numbers and it's around 17%,uh,raise. So if you all can imagine what that looks like
if you were to get a 17%raise,um,we're hoping that it has a lot of impact to the,um,the
low wage earners that are,um,working in these programs. Um,these are the
requirements for who qualifies and I won't read through all of them. But,um,you know
Laurie talked about quality and that's what we want to see centers that are,um,
participating in those quality rating systems so that the kids that they're working with,
um,have exposure to the quality. Um,the hourly minimum wage is no less than the
county and that set forth. And then as Laurie talked about that, I'm not maintaining that
20% cap. Um,we also,uh,really want to make sure that the-the centers are also taking
CCA at the lower,um,the zero. The infant care is hard to sometimes,um, get-take CCA
for that. So we really want to focus on those programs that,um,that are,um,really
intentionally taking childcare assistance. Um, and then I don't know if I go to the next
one,the staff. So what we're looking for those,um,teacher- classroom teachers that are
working full-time, at least 32 hours a week and that are year-round employees.
Consistency of care is really important,um, also. So, um, and that they earn less than $23
an hour. Um, and again,that's a classroom teacher, an assistant, a floater,um, somebody
who's consistently working in a classroom at that 32 and up,um,per hour or excuse me,
per-per week rate. So- and then I'm going to turn it over to Shelly to break down the rest
of the info.
Maharry: Thank you. Hello. Good afternoon. I'm Shelly Maharry...
Teague: Welcome.
Maharry: ...from the Community Foundation of Johnson County. How the collaboration will
really work is we're really wanting Johnson County to really lean into the importance that
child care plays in our economy. We are wanting to invite investment from City of Iowa
City and Johnson County,uh,to provide seed money of investment of$250,000 per year
to the fund that operates the Child Care Solutions program for three years which totals
$750,000. We're also reaching out to the business community,knowing that a vital
workforce depends directly on quality childcare being available in our community. That
investment is $150 per year per employee to sponsor,uh,the program for their
community. And this is also part of the work of the Better Together 2030,uh,program,
which serves as the liaison,uh,to the business community. The Community Foundation
of Johnson County will hold a fund,uh, for,uh,this work and I'll explain a little bit more
of that in just a moment. But contributions that the business community do make to this
fund could be charitable and nature to them since this is a program that's supporting,um,
the work all across Johnson County. And the fund is also under the overall umbrella of
Better Together 2030. We have several funds that we are holding at the Community
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work
session of March 7, 2023.
Page 8
Foundation,really aligning lots of good strategy, lots of good work under the umbrella of
Better Together 2030. Johnson County Social Services,we'll be working with the
providers to pay the supplemental wages to the employees and our good partners at 4Cs
of Johnson County will work with the childcare centers and in-home providers to educate
them about the program and get them on board. So just a quick note about the fund at the
Community Foundation of Johnson County. It is a fund that can take in both public funds
and private funds to be used specifically for this program. If there was ever a requirement
that funds say for Iowa City,uh, funds given,um, in Iowa City are held separately and
accounted for separately,we could certainly,uh, accomplish that. We act as a third-party
fiduciary, so we oversee the funds and make sure that the monies going out of the funds
are used only in the manner that was intended by the fund. And there's a little bit of
language there,uh, for you to have as well,just about how the agreement was written up
for the fun- for the fund. The intended fund is really expected to be long-term. We want
to lean into the importance of childcare in Johnson County,not only for just this Wage
Enhancement Program but thinking strategically long-term about how we can,uh, impact
that sector in elevated as much as we can.
Teague: I have one question.
Maharry: Yes.
Teague: On the last slide. I think you said Johnson County Social Services will distribute the
funds. Can you talk a little bit more about that?Will it goes directly to the child care
provider or the staff or will it go to the center?
Maharry: So from the Community Foundations fund, it would go to Johnson County. From there,
it'll be distributed directly to the,um, centers. Well, actually to the individuals? To the
centers?Yes,to the centers.
Teague: Great. Thanks. That was it.
Maharry: Great. And with that, I get to turn it over to our fearless leader,Better Together 2030,
Cady Gerlach.
Teague: Great. Welcome.
Gerlach: Thanks for having us. So as Shelly mentioned we entered into the agreement with the
Community Foundation opening the Child Care Coalition and charitable giving fund.
And the goal would be that it has a broad intent to serve all of the childcare goals outlined
in the Better Together all envision. But this is a great fust project to kick us off. We are,
uh,undergoing a fundraising campaign with private employers. So we're asking
employers to contribute to the program at a rate of$150 per employee annually to the
fund. So we've got seven employers committed, including one large employer and it's
tax-deductible to employers. So that's a benefit,um, of private business making
contributions. The one downfall I would say we have in Johnson County, so this program
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work
session of March 7, 2023.
Page 9
is working really well in Hamilton County--um,we have a lot of non-profit employers, so
we-they can't necessarily take advantage of the tax deduction. But that hasn't stopped all
of our,uh, investors so far. And- and we know that,um,we're going to continue to grow
interest in the program. We also know that this is an incredible need throughout
workforce issues that come up. The business partnership and Iowa City Area
Development are consistently hearing about workforce issues across the county. And
childcare is one of those issues that continues to rise to the top of workforce. So we have,
uh, a beautiful spreadsheet designed by Jacqueline from the City of Iowa City. And this
isn't,um, one that you can,uh,that we can manipulate here but we do have a spreadsheet
that she's created for us with different formulas so we can do some targeting,uh,
projections. And so the way that I froze this one is at 135 childcare employees,um,just
the best-best estimate at the fust year. And that would be an annual cost of 513,000 for
the program. So that would assume that,uh,the employee would work 35 hours per week
and then we would calculate the total supplement at two dollars per hour but then we
would also include FICA. So we're-we're contributing 0.153 for every two dollars spent.
And that means that there's no cost to the employer to participate in the program. The
Community Foundation,um, fee with Better Together,uh,projects,the administration
fees have been cut in half by the Community Foundation. And so that's an incredible
contribution of that group. Um, and so based on the amount in the fund,that's what that
is. So if it's five,you know, if it's 265,000 in there,then we're going to pay $3,000 in the
administration fees. And right now the County has not assessed any,uh,made in a
determination that they would need to have any funding to administer this program. Of
course,we want it to be incredibly successful and grow to the point where they will need
staff to operate it. But at this point,they have current staffing to be able to do so. Looking
at the financial stability of this program and future planning,we're hoping to,uh, launch
this program this year. It's-we've already received our fust applications. We have secured
county funding and we also have empower,uh, empowerment funds. So we'd like to get
this going. We know that there's an urgency to this issue and so we are reviewing the fust
applications starting next week. So we're hoping to get the City of Iowa City's funds as
well. We'll expand the EC Iowa funds. And depending on the ARPA procedures,per
municipality, I know Johnson County and Iowa City each have different procedures for
their ARPA funds,we can determine how to segregate those funds and- and operate
those. We'd like to have the City of Iowa City's funds deposited at the Community
Foundation to continue to grow,uh, so that we can continue to,um, invest and grow this
whole solutions fund. We're hoping that the initial pilot year in 2024,we're going to see
success. Part of the participation in the program requires data. So the- each Child Care
Center has to report back. And we're going to have incredible data to report annually and
we'll have very specific data. So the employees have waivers,the centers have waivers
and we'll be able to really see the metrics and be able to report on the outcomes of this
program. We'll continue fundraising with private businesses into the fund,which should
grow our investments and returns,hoping the market improves. Uh,we know that
program data collection will continue. And in 2026 we know that all ARPA funds need to
be expended. And by then,we're hoping that we have such an annual investment from the
private business community, including the City of Iowa City as an employer. At that
point,the County as an employer,the University of Iowa as an employer,we will have
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work
session of March 7, 2023.
Page 10
those funds needed to be able to continue to operate this program. So but we know in
2027 and beyond and towards 2030,Johnson County will lead the region and the country
and childcare investment in initiatives. So I can answer any questions you have or we can
kind of,Jenny is going to come up and conclude for us and then we'd be happy to answer
any ongoing questions.
Alter: I have one question. Um, sorry, Cady. I have a question about the,um,the-the 250,000
per year for three years,the ARPA funds,which I completely get. Is that representative
of,um,the employees or is this separate?Um, I guess I'm just thinking of a mechanism
of this- is this representing like 150 per employee for the City?
Fruin:No,No.
Alter: That's the sustainability piece.
Gerlach: We'll be backed,be back in 2026 for that.
Gerlach: Yeah.
Alter: Okay. So this is just...
Fruin: Under that metric our contribution would be lower.
Alter: Okay.
Fruin: This is just recognizing that we have ARPA funds and we've established childcare as one
of our ARPA priorities.
Alter: And then I have one other question and it may be you're fine to say let's hold that and it
can be later. Um, it seems to me that definitely this program is to incentivize retention
above and beyond and to- and to help professionalize the profession and like pay them
what they're worth, and this is a really good start. Has there been discussion in looking at
it maybe through the 2030 lens of growing the pipeline so that it can actually be
incentivizing people to get into the profession and to help with the training that I know Is-
is sort of brought in,uh, early on to talk about measures that have happened because it
seems like we're still stuck with those slots. There's a gap, even if we haven't gotten- even
if we're helping those who are still in the profession to be able to. But- so is that kind of
part of the conversation too.
Gerlach: I can let Missie and Jenny speak more to that,but that's also continued work as part of
the coalition 4-C's, um,has also worked with Kirkwood to develop a program. And
again, starting with this- starting with centers. But we want to expand this to in-home
providers as well as the program continues to grow. We want to continue to expand it
across the childcare workforce and so we just need to pilot it this year and see how the
centers are because it's easier to operate on the-the kind of track the data that way. But
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work
session of March 7, 2023.
Page 11
this will continue to grow. And I know that,um, all of our partners in this coalition are
continuing to work on up-skilling in childcare as a profession and growing that industry,
but recruiting people into that industry. There's even a high-school program that they've
been working on. Um,wages continue to come up as the reason and so this was our fust
primary goal to kind of launch- launch into that. And I'm-we're really hopeful that it'll
work. Said another way, if we need 500,000 to run this program annually for 135
employees,um,that's only 3,500 employees in Johnson County that we need to get
employers to contribute to $150 for annually. And that's a very doable goal. I think we
can even do beyond that and grow the program.
Alter: Thanks.
Dunn: My-my question is, actually, I think a- a good piggyback off of that particular statement.
You mentioned that you had seven employers that were bought into this. How many
employee contributions are they between those seven employers do have.
Gerlach: So total, that would be 46.
Dunn: Forty-six, okay.
Gerlach: But the large employer is not included in them.
Dunn: Gotcha. Uh,the other question I have is- is kind of just a contingency question I suppose.
Um, so I'm thinking about a variety of situations that providers could be looking at,um,
with this program being introduced. Um, and I'm wondering if you guys have thought
about, okay, so how are we going to prevent,um,you know,bad actors from benefiting
from this program in a- in a not good way,right? If a company has already paying out
two dollars over that 11,what was it, 16 or something like that per hour,the
recommended Johnson County minimum wage, and they decide to cut back two dollar in
order to receive two dollar increase in wages,um, do you have anything to prevent that
or- or what-what is your plan for that?
Gerlach: I'm really fun to have meetings with. You should see these waivers for signing. So
there's a lot of requirements on the participants and the centers both. So you know,we're
really contracting with the centers,but we thought it was important that the staff really
also understand the obligations of participating in the program and to also hold their
employers accountable and have a cycle there. So the staff are actually completing
applications as and waivers as well, so they understand what their starting wages are and
what it should be and they're also going to be able to hold their employers accountable
but the data that we're collecting will allow social services staff to ensure that,that
doesn't happen.
Dunn: Awesome. Thank you.
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work
session of March 7, 2023.
Page 12
Maharry: I'll elaborate on that. That's a very good question. So for reimbursement,um, centers
will submit payroll information for each employee they're seeking reimbursement on. So
we'll have where their wages at when they started and then,uh- and then with the two-
dollar wage increase. So we'll have documentation and that will be required before they
can receive reimbursement. So that'll be part of the monthly reimbursement request.
Dunn: When they start with the company or when they're starting with the program?
Maharry: When they're starting the program. So we'll have their base wage and we set the base
wage that they're-because we know some centers are already further ahead than others.
They've raised wages, others are playing catch up,but we-we said that their base wage,
um, starting the program had to be a minimum of the county recommended minimum
wage at 11.56 an hour. So,um,that way it's an equal playing field. Everybody has to be
there to start out at a minimum. If they're already paying more than that,that's great. Then
this-this program is not intended to back fill,uh,the wages that have already been
established at centers. This is intended to be supplemental in addition, and that was quite
intentional. Uh,there's a number of programs. Uh, so we,um-we replicated and
borrowed ideas from other areas;Hamilton County, as Cady had mentioned.But one
thing that's different about our program versus theirs,those programs are,uh,
reimbursement based on a bonus that's paid out like on a quarterly basis. So for a lot of
employees,uh,though,the bonus is nice, a lot of them don't tie that to their wages
because they don't see it immediately. So for us, it was really critical that we tied this
wage enhancement to their actual wage. So they sa it in their paycheck,um, each pay
period,um, and so we're able to track that,uh, centers if they have,um, a hard time on
maybe fronting the money,then instead of,uh,requesting reimbursement on a monthly
basis,they're able to do that after each pay period. Uh,we're-we're leaving that up to the
centers. Um,what's best for them. Uh- so, uh,we should have that covered since there
will be submitting their payroll information. We have a lot of experience at the County
through the Social Services Department in terms of grants management,uh,we allocate a
number of grants and so tracking payroll and reimbursing for,uh, employee wages is not
new for us.
Dunn: Yeah. So I- I- I guess I just want to make something,uh, clear here. My-my comments
here are not any- in any way,uh, signaling- signaling any kind of,um, stance against this.
I- I just do think it is kind of an important thing to consider. Um, and I guess my-my
concern is if we're only tracking the payroll data from the start of the program and not
prior to the start of the program,how would you know if the company has decided to cut
back wages and use it as a back fill?
Gerlach: The-the application specifically says that in both the center and the staff member are-
are certifying that.
Dunn: Okay.
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work
session of March 7, 2023.
Page 13
Gerlach: And we also have the data collected from those centers that-uh,that Laurie has
voluminous records.
Dunn: Awesome.
Nash: And we have that pilot part. When we fust did the very fust, we have each center and
what their starting wage is for each one so we can comp- compare back to what they told
us in September and ensure that that's.
Dunn: Awesome. Thank you.
Maharry: And also,uh,the-the process for this is that a center will apply. So we've received six
applications so far. We just opened it up, seven now. Um, once we go through that,
identify eligible centers and then they receive notification that they're eligible,then they'll
be invited to have their eligible staff members,those that are eligible are- are working 32
hours or more a week,then they can too submit an application,um, and they'll all come
through the center. That application includes the,um, individual's wage, so,um,the
employee themselves is writing down their current wage prior to the wage enhancement.
Dunn: Thank you.
Teague: Thank you.
Gerlach: We'll let Jenny come up and close out and then-
Teague: Right.
Gerlach: All of us are available for questions.
Teague: Thank you.
Barta: So thank you for those questions,um, it's almost as if you crawled inside of our brains.
And we have been meeting weekly to discuss this. And we have just thrown every
scenario out there and tried to figure out how to break this. So,um,we always encourage
questions like that because it just makes it a better product at the end. So,um, as we
talked about at the very beginning, our goal,um, is to increase access to affordable,high-
quality-high-quality-high-quality childcare. And,um, so we feel very,uh, confident that
addressing the childcare workforce shortage is one of the many important steps that we're
going to need to take to get there. Um, as you mentioned, I think we talked a little bit
earlier about building the workforce pipeline,um, is that fust step and we have really
been focusing on that for a few years now. But,you know,we know that primarily
women are in this childcare workforce. And if we're only paying them $23,000 a year, it
doesn't feel good for me as a woman to not really tackle this wage issue for women who
are in this workforce. So this has been,you know,kind of a passion project for all of us.
And,you know,we really need to address these-these wages. So by encouraging more
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work
session of March 7, 2023.
Page 14
people to enter into that workforce,we're hoping that we can,uh,provide that living
wage for folks. And we believe that that will help us imp- increase access and improve
quality. And so one of the things you also asked about is,you know,building that
pipeline. I'm also on,um,the State Early Childhood Iowa Board and we just discussed,
um, in our last board meeting last week,um, all of the different funding sources that are
being,um,pushed into that pipeline development. So they're now gonna fund statewide
Teach Program. And we can tell you all about that,but it's funding for,um, childcare
training. Um, so I'm always on the lookout for those dollars at the state level and the
federal level, and how can we bring those back into our community to really support
childcare. So,um, I just want to also end, I- I was just saying this the other day; childcare
really is a win-win-win. So if you figure out how to increase access to childcare,um, and
how to increase wages,you are providing stable childcare for working parents. You are
providing workers for our area employers who are,um,not having to leave because of
interruptions and childcare or leave after they've had their second baby because they can't
afford it anymore. You're providing,um, our workers with a living wage,um,that they
can feel good about and they can feel like they're in a profession that is valued in our
community. And then lastly, as we all know, and I think there's nobody in here that
would argue with this, our children deserve this. They deserve high-quality child care and
a safe place to be,um, and not,you know, in situations that are less than ideal. So, um,
with that, I just wanna remind you this-this two dollar an hour increase equates to a 17%
raise, and that means 4,160 extra dollars a year. That's not a lot. I would like it to be $10
an hour,but we're starting here, and I just hope that we can commit to this as a
community,not just government,but also the business community investing in this. And
I think that that is the beauty of this model. So,um, our whole community is going to get
involved. So I appreciate your time, and encourage your questions.
Bergus: I have a few. Thank you, everyone for all your work on this. And I think this-what you
presented today really shows how much thought and effort that you've put into it. So
thank you. Um,my fust question is just relating to the conversations that you may be
have had with employers and getting those onboard. And,um,what has been successful
if you've had enough conversations to kind of have a sense of what really helps them buy
in to participation in this.
Barta: Yes, So,uh, as we alluded to earlier, our employers are really struggling for workforce.
And,um, I know I've had,uh,multiple conversations in my past role,the business
partnership. Um, i spent a lot of time with employers that we're really wanting to grow
their business,but they couldn't because they couldn't find employees or their favorite
best employee had to quit because they had a second baby or- or stories like that. So
when we go in and we talk about this,they are really,um, interested and they like this
public private partnership model because they know they need to do something. And a lot
of times I get phone calls, I'm going to start a childcare center up in my business. Okay,
well,that's problematic. That's not just easy. You don't just,you know,put out some cots
and bring in the kids,right? So this is an option for them that is really,um, something
that they can pay into. And it's for the betterment of the workforce,um,that are located
right here in Johnson County. I will tell you that,um, I was asked to come up to Cedar
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work
session of March 7, 2023.
Page 15
Rapids to participate,um, in a conversation with their business community. They're
looking at this model. Um, I've gotten multiple phone calls from other communities that
are interested,they saw it in the DI, or they saw an article, um, about this and they're
really interested in figuring this out for their communities too. So I think again,we're-
we're leading in this. So some of the challenges that our employers are facing when
thinking about investing in this. Does it come out of the HR budget does it come out of
the foundation, does it come out of,you know,where does the money come from? So
those are some of the conversations that we talk about. The other thing,um,that our
community has a large number of non-profits. So,you know, again, as our,um,you
know, state legislature kind of cuts the budgets for our major employer in town, It's a
little bit harder for them to justify paying into this program. But we're continuing to meet
with those employers. And,um,they're very excited about this. We've just started and
we've already got seven plus this one large employer locally that have invested. We have
mul-multiple meetings set up down the road that I think,um,people will be jumping in.
Bergus: I have a quick question piggybacking off that,that maybe is for staff,which is as far as
where the money can come from. Can we find some way for the employee benefits levy
to pay for this? Or just think about it. I realized that it looked like the scope would
maybe be more close to $100,000 than 250.
Fruin: Yeah.
Bergus: On an ongoing basis. Okay.
Fruin: Yeah,that's correct. And- and my understanding,would be that the ARPA contribution of
750 would be our three-year con- contribution. And then in year 4 we would start the 150
or whatever that figure is at that time contribution,but we'll look at the levy.
Bergus:Now it may be a tougher question,with the time and care that you took in speaking with
all of the different centers and providers and feedback and information that you received
from them. And you mentioned Lisa Williams was involved in the-the coalition. So I
imagine you're aware we have a pending request, as do all the muni-municipalities,to
fund the wraparound services for,um, four-year-old pre-K uh for the district- for the
Iowa City Community School District. So do you have a sense at our last work session,
I'd ask the question of,you know,kinda what feedback they're getting from providers and
we'd asked that at the joint entities meeting as well, and I'd hope maybe there have been
some additional conversations. But it sounds like from the district to providers,there's not
much communication. So do you have a sense of how that program or that ask might
impact,um,kind of the landscape that we're talking about here.
Barta: Uh,yes. So there's,um, if the school district decides to bring four-year-old preschool into
the district and provide,um,wrap-around care within the school district,um,that will be
very problematic for our local childcare centers. As you saw up there they make-they
make-unfortunately,they make money on four-year-olds and they lose money on that
newborn. So,um, it has been,um, a struggle to find,um, a middle ground that will work
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work
session of March 7, 2023.
Page 16
for both the school district and our childcare providers. And I'm sure,um,with continued
conversations that we will get there. Um, so there are many models out there that we can
look at that,um,would,um, address the issue of providing that-that wrap-around care
for the four-year-old from those childcare centers,um,maybe bringing a school district,
um, employee into the center to provide the curriculum in the center,um,maybe training
one of the center directors to,um,to do the curriculum,the Iowa City School District
curriculum within their center for them. So there's a lot of different models, and,um,Lisa
and Matt,they're great partners, so we will-we'll find a solution. I think. I just also want
to make the comment,that it doesn't have to be either or. This program actually will also
help subsidize the wages of childcare centers that are providing that four-year-old
preschool. Um, and if the school district then chooses to use those centers for the wrap-
around care,we can still engage in that, and this could be a really nice,um, collaboration
in that.
Dunn: I-I just thought of another question. Could you talk more to the decision to, as I
understand it, sort of exclude in-home services an more prioritize larger centers. The
reason I ask is I grew up with one in my home. My parents had a daycare up until 2010 or
11,right next to my bedroom. And so the initial thing that I think about is okay,well, if
we're raising the wages of, ah, folks that are working at larger,more well-established,
you know companies, it's going to make the-the talent pool for you know smaller
companies that are out of people's homes a lot less desirable. And it might be much
harder for those companies to simply exist or have talents. So I'm kind of wondering
what your thoughts have been about that dynamic.
Barta: I think you must be listening in on our meetings because yes,we had to start somewhere
and we had to start where I think you know it was a decision we made where we can
impact the most number of kids quickly. But that doesn't mean we're not gonna do a
quick, once we get folks into this program and we have tested it and it's working. You
probably noticed on one of our slides,the very next group that we're gonna expand this to
is in-home centers. But we-we need to do the research on what does that look like? Is it a
yearly bonus? Is it a quarterly stipend you know? So we decided to focus our energy on
this to begin with. But that is coming and we don't intend to disadvantage uh, one type of
childcare. Um,we wanna be able to serve all of them. These numbers,um, are large and
they kind of scared us when we fust started talking about them. So we wanted to get,
um,-we wanted to get some experience under our belt with the childcare centers and then,
um,with a quick followup with the, in homes.
Dunn: Can you- can you talk to me a little bit about how you've engaged with the uh,the in-
home providers throughout this process of planning?
Barta: Well, I think,um, from the very beginning we've had folks on the coalition that are in
home providers and have gathered their feedback. We also work closely with CCRNR,
who represents all of the providers,the registered or not in Johnson County and the
region. Um, so we have gotten uh, feedback directly from them on this coalition as well
too.
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work
session of March 7, 2023.
Page 17
Taylor: Excuse me. So you would be planning to do a survey of those in-home providers then
because this other was focused on the big providers.
Barta: Yes-yes.
Taylor: So you would do another survey of them to see how many.
Barta: I don't wanna speak for Johnson County.
Forbes: 4-C's works really closely with in-home providers and,um,you know it's uh,their own
business they're setting their own rates and so we support them in other ways.Not that
um,not with a $2 incentive. But in other ways that they um,we kinda pick up some
expenses as far as um, supplies and activities and things like that. So not that it's the
same,but I think we're kind of picking up that lift a little bit right now. And while we can
focus on the centers and see how that goes, so if that's helpful.
Teague: All right,thank you all so much for coming.
Alter: My last-I have one final question is,what is your timeline?What is, what would be
optimal for decision?
Gerlach: As soon as we can get. Um, so the funding is there from Johnson County. So we're,
we're scoring applications on Monday and we're starting. We want Iowa City to be at the
table as well. But we know that the problem is urgent and we need to to get going in this
fust quarter was our goal. And so we've-we've met our goal and we're gonna-we're gonna
get going and we're just gonna continue to build the coalition and build the fund with
those that wanna join.
Teague: Okay. Great, last question. Thank you all for coming.
Gerlach: Thanks for having us.
Teague: Yes.
Fruin: Mayor,before you move on to the next item, I, I thought I'd just share a tentative plan at
least in my mind and see if it's consistent with what you're thinking. So the-the
presentation you had tonight followed the one from your last work session from the
school district on the four-year-old wrap around proposal. Um, I, I think it would be a
good idea to give yourself an opportunity to discuss both of those at the same time,um,
and how you wanna move forward with-with one or either so that your next work session,
I was gonna place an item with both the wage supplement program and the four-year-old
proposal from the school district on that.No presentation. Just an opportunity for you to
discuss and if you're comfortable at that time,you can direct staff to move forward with
one or the other or both. Um, and If you decide that you've got questions that are
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work
session of March 7, 2023.
Page 18
unanswered,that-that need to be resolved. We can invite either one of the groups back in
for future discussions. Sound okay?
Teague: Yes.
Gerlach: One other item is that the charitable giving fund at the Community Foundation-the
intent and the purpose is written broad enough as well that if you'd like to fund an Early
Childhood Initiative and that would include maybe the school district,Better Together,
we could help kind of shepherd those funds as well.
Teague: Thank you.
Bergus: Um, Geoff,how long will it take once the council gives direction to staff to get to the
point of funding to the Community Foundation.
Fruin: I,I think the ARPA agreement would be, I think we can move pretty expeditiously on that
one. The school district would be the more complicated one because we need to talk
about a revenue source for that particular one. Um,but if if there's-we'd been-I've been
working under the assumption that we're gonna move forward with this wage supplement
program or it's been identified-child care was identified as a priority early on in the
ARPA process all the way back to 2021. And you all have really stressed partnerships
and engagement. This seems like it checks those boxes very well. So we can begin to
kind of sketch out now what that agreement looks like and be prepared to move forward
should you give us the green light. Um, again,the school district one,just because we
would not be using ARPA dollars,we'd have to come up with other revenue sources is a
bit more complicated and I say it would take a little bit longer to-to tease out how exactly
we're gonna fund that in a sustainable way.
Bergus: Thank you.
Teague: So we'll have it on our next work session and kind of that discussion.
2. Strategic Plan Action: Revamp the neighborhood PIN grant program and evaluate
discretionary funding for district/neighborhood grassroots projects
Teague: All right,we're gonna move on to item number 2. And that is the strategic-kind of a
strategic plan action,revamping the Neighborhood PIN Grant program, and evaluate
discretionary funding for district neighborhood grassroots project. .
Fruin: I think I'll start this one off Mayor if you don't mind. So in your information packet on
March 2,you have a memo from Shannon McMahon and Ayman Sharif. Both are here to
join us, ah,this afternoon and are available for your questions. But this follows your
strategic plan uh, session in which you identified this as a priority. So the PIN Grant
Program is essentially a grant program that has long lived at the City where we support
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work
session of March 7, 2023.
Page 19
neighborhood associations in pursuing whatever it is they may,uh-they may deem
important for their neighborhood. That can be beautification projects, it could be social
gatherings and things of that nature. We've taken a-a kind of a-a re-look at the program
in-in relation to your strategic plan and the memo outlines how we'd like to change
things. I will also note that in the budget proposal before you that you'll be considering in
April,um, there is a $5,000 increase in the PIN Grant Program so we'll have some extra
funding there to support this effort. So I in-in, ah, looking at the time here, I won't go
through the memo in detail unless that's what you'd like and then, again, Shannon and
Ayman are here to answer any questions you have about their work here.
Teague: Well, I do you think it's a great opportunity for,um,people in our community that have
an access to this,um,kind of grant in the past. Um, I- I do wonder how some of that
information is gonna just get,um,maybe out to the community members, some of these
newer neighborhood associations, so maybe if you all can elaborate on that. Um,because
we know that if it's there,uh,that's great but how will the word kinda get out and about?
McMahon: Good afternoon, Council. I'm Shannon McMahon. Um,Ayman and I have been
talking about how we're going to roll this out a little bit differently than in the past. Um,
one of the ways that we'd like to make sure that neighborhoods are aware of the PIN
Grant Program and are able to participate is to help neighborhood associations by
creating surveys for the residents and making sure those surveys get to the neighborhoods
so people have a chance to weigh in on the options that they'd like to see in the PIN
Grants in their own neighborhoods. And that's one, I think, significant change than we've
seen from the past.
Sharif: And as far as, uh- good afternoon,Ayman Sharif. And,uh,just to add to that,uh,we've
been organizing,um, a series of,um,regular,uh,neighborhood association meetings and
a stuff which will be used as a venue- good venue to connect to uh,PIN Grant processes
and other things as well. So this will be like a- a main area,um,that can relay
information about the PIN Grant as well.
Teague: Great. And welcome to both of you.
Alter: I just have a question actually about the timing of the awards. I see in here that it was-the
funding would be made after- available after July 1st of 2023 and I realize that that
actually kinda works well within this perimeter of this cycle. But I was wondering if
there's- I know many neighborhood associations or- or neighborhoods in general that
summertime and better weather tends to be when somebody-when they wanna do their
events and at the same time they can be awarded it in July and they could keep those until
the following June,right?And spend that money then. But a lot of times, especially if
they're more neighborhood associations,they may not be thinking ahead almost 12
months. So I'm just wondering if, like, after this fust run there's the possibility of maybe
moving that cycle back a little bit so that you would have the full summer and that they
could be awarded that money maybe at the beginning of the summer so that they could
expend that money a little bit more upfront.
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work
session of March 7, 2023.
Page 20
McMahon: That is certainly something that we can look at in the future. I think that we'd also
like to look at aligning the timing with some other grants that the City has available so
that we can maybe piggyback between them to help provide more substantial assistance.
Alter: Sure. And for what it's worth. This is me throwing spaghetti on the wall so you can feel
free to poke holes in it, like, and say,well,timing wise,that doesn't work,but that was
what struck me when I was reading it. I was like, I just know that late spring and summer
is when events are more,um, desirable so it just seemed that that might be, er, something
to look into.
McMahon: And I think that's also going to be helpful to have that discretionary funding available
so that when something does pop up and we have an inactive neighborhood that would
like to participate or have an event that we may be able to help them out with that.
Bergus: What's the-what does PIN grant stand for again?
Sharif: Program for Improving Neighborhoods.
Bergus: Okay. Great. And it's not just general fund money?
Fruin: Yes, it is.
Bergus: Okay. Wonderful. Um,yeah, I really like the discretionary piece as well, and I would
imagine that once you have that in place,you may find,you know, sort of this demand
and timeliness question may sort of work itself out and you see when people are coming
with requests that-um,that hadn't-hadn't been funded in a larger- larger pot. Um, I
thought it was extremely helpful to see the gaps identified and the collaboration with,
like, an-um, a define-you know, a city staff, sort of sponsor or support person, I think, is
really excellent to engage all the different-um, all the different departments and just,you
know,the different places in the city where we have a little bit more distributed,um,
outreach efforts so to make sure that they're communicating in terms of these
opportunities and to the neighborhoods themselves. I like it.
Harmsen: Great. Looks like good planning,uh,time for this program to have that update and that
sort of,uh,move on to its next step after experience and- and gained over the last several
years so- so thank you for doing the legwork on this.
Teague: Well,thanks to you both. Yes. All right. Any other discussion on this,uh, item by
council?Um, I- I guess we probably need to,you know,kinda signal any changes to the
City Manager's Office if we're thinking any at this time.
Bergus: I liked everything in the memo.
Teague: Okay.
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work
session of March 7, 2023.
Page 21
From: And these-these expenditures are at a level that we have the authority to execute, so we
don't-this isn't one of the grant programs that comes back to you or we ask you for those
individual awards. Because it's part of your strategic plan,we'll report periodically to tell
you how it's going and give you an examples of the grants that we provide,but,um,we
don't need any formal action. Mayor,just as you suggested, if- if you like the track that
we're on,we'll continue to move forward and report back at the appropriate intervals.
3. Clarification of Agenda Items:
Teague: Okay. All right.Next item on our agenda is three, clarification of agenda items. I don't
know that there is any.
4. Information Packet Discussion
Teague: All right,we'll move on to 4, informational packet discussion. We'll start with February
23rd. We will move on to March 2°d. And we do have IPS,uh,that we need to discuss
and is a membo-memo from our Deputy City Manager. Um, so if- yeah. So this is a
request for statements of interest for inclusive economic development support for
underestimated businesses and entrepreneurs. So-yeah, go ahead.
Fruin: Well, this- I'll just make a quick in- introduction on this one. Uh, it feels like we're-we're
moving,uh, on the ARPA front pretty well here. Uh, we-we just heard the wonderful
presentation on the wage supplement program. Um,you will soon see the non-profit
capital grant program back before you and this piece is one that I know staff is- is very
excited about. It was the,um, largest,uh, chunk of,uh,ARPA dollars that we identified
through the public input process and that's four million to support underestimated,uh,
businesses and entrepreneurs in the community. So I'll let the Deputy City Manager,
Redmond Jones,uh,walk you through that memo in our thought process on that and we
welcome your input before we issue that publicly.
Jones: Good afternoon Mayor, Council. Um, I have the pleasure to kinda talk about this. This has
been one of the highly anticipated,uh,programs. Just the rumor over it has gotten,uh, a
lot of excitement in the public and we've had a number of preliminary meetings in the
build-up to this,uh,with members of the public in anticipation of this program. So it's
really exciting to see this,uh, starting to come together. So as the City Manager sh-uh,
shared, I'm here to kinda discuss,um,this,uh,requests for statement of interests,um, for
the inclusive economic development support for underestimated businesses and
entrepreneurs,um,basically BIPOC business support. But our-uh, one of our,um,
companies recently did-uh,vendors re-recently did,uh, inclusive economic
development plan and,uh,recommended that the language be,uh, changed to,um, spur
more,uh, interest in the community. So,uh,we've done that. Um, so-uh,we're-what
we're hoping is that this discussion that we're about to have would,um, get the feedback
from the council,uh, give us any,um, suggested changes and,uh, any process as we
move forward and- and hopefully we can,um,move forward with is next step of the,um,
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work
session of March 7, 2023.
Page 22
ARPA initiative rolling this out. Um- so if you can recall,back in,uh, 2021,um,the City
Council had identified several ARPA, um, funding priorities and strategic investments.
And one of those was BIPOC-BIPOC business support. And at that time we identified $4
million. Uh, staff has looked at and recommend that. We expect to see,uh, capital and,
um, interest as well as kind of human support,um,kinda soft interest might be,um,
things like lending programs and things of that nature. So we expect to see kinda two
areas of- of- of proposals or- or concepts, I should say,that come in and we want to be
able to be flexible to handle all those different types of ideas. So we anticipate
somewhere around three million going towards capitalize pro-projects or things that lend
themselves. Um,maybe rehab programs,um,brick-and-mortar,uh,maybe even,um,
land purchase,things of those natures and others are maybe more of,um,the human
aspect of supporting services to,um,help,um, give businesses the abilities to be
successful. So,um-We're looking at it that way. Obviously, it depends on what we get in,
and it could change that. Ah, and, ah,we'll,you know,want to have a process that it'd be
flexible to be able to adjust the diversity of those type of-of suggestions and concepts. So
that's why the- ah,the concept of requesting for statements of interest is appealing
because it provides that flexibility as well as gives us a really kind of low barrier to entry,
uh, gives us the ability. So if there are things they are gaps that are missing,that staff can
work with those organizations out there to help refine,um,those proposals so that when
we do bring them back to City Council,they-they'll be more aligned with being
successful,um, should council agree to-um supporting those. So,um, I just wanted to
also kind of capture some of the-the high level aspects since,uh,this is so well
anticipated that the-the folks tuning in to Channel 4 will be able to kind of get an idea of
what we're looking at. So,um, looking at the eligibility,um. First,we're-we're kinda
looking at a non-profit and profit organizations we're trying to be as flexible as possible,
um, for all those different types of- of business type of entities that are interested in
supporting,um,these businesses. We're also focused on,uh, city based organizations and
they- and they must be the lead applicant in those,but we're also encouraging
partnerships and partnerships can come from outside of the communities. Could be
Coralville, could be,um-um, folks that are- are doing the same type of initiatives in other
communities,but we wanted to have a focus in Iowa City. So as long as there's a lead
partner that is Iowa City base,we want to see- I want to see those concepts as well.
Physical space proposals. Obviously,we want that to be located in Iowa City, so we do
have-have that and we're proposing,um, organizations must have demonstrated some
ability but at the same time we don't want to, if there's a brand new organization or
something that is a new concept that haven't had that experience, staff still wants to sit
down with them and help build them probably provide some technical assistance,
depending on what those proposals are to help them fill those kind of gaps. Maybe even
suggest other partners that might be also in the community that can help them,um, fill
those gaps to be successful. That kinda gives us the ability to bring in all of those ideas. I
think what a statement of interest would look like. Obviously,we would like to have a
cover letter kind of explaining a general description of- of what that concept is,the
purpose,the benefit,the goals. Um,what we're also very interested in and how is that
going to build community. And- and this kinda goes in with some of the heart of the
ARPA funding is kind of built around resiliency. And one of those things is going to,you
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work
session of March 7, 2023.
Page 23
know,help the community become stronger binds. So should we run it to another kind of
community-wide emergency then we will be a little bit more prepared to address it
because communities knows how to rely on each other and build stronger,better together,
right. So obviously that's important. Uh,preliminary timeline, the estimated budget,big
picture, ah,things. I'm looking for partnerships and their track record, statement of
abilities, and statement of work to date is also important, and any other information that
is successful. So it doesn't take a lot to pull that together. We just wanted to get those
ideas and be able to start the process of working with folks to develop those into some
hard proposals that can be brought forward. So I think that was everything. Is there any
questions?
Teague: I'll have to say this is exciting. A long time coming,this proposal here. Johnson County
inclusive economic development plan was, I would say, a real contributor to, ah, some of
the information that we had to really pull this together. So thanks to everyone that
participated in that and of course to you and leading this effort as well. The requests for
statement of interests. Um, my understanding as you just mentioned, is it allows for
flexibility on,uh,what projects are really out there. We don't totally know what all-what
all the interests will be and so that I do appreciate this allowing us to have some
flexibility. In your memo you mentioned that after those statements come in,ther'll be a
review committee. And then I see that you stated as staff and maybe one or two city
councilors can be a part of that. And so at some point, I think this council have to discuss
that. I do have interest in being a part of that. One of the- one of the,um, questions that I
do have is, did the Johnson County inclusive economic development plan-- don't fully
remember it, I know that we had a- a presentation here--did it kinda give us what the
anticipated needs were? Only because I see that it said that we would expect is $4 million
for the total reward as well what's being proposed,but we're expected to award three
million towards capital needs in nature as well as one and then one million towards
programs,projects or other proposals aimed at business support services. And so not that
you totally have to answer that,but do you have a-uh, a rationale for why three million
and one million is there with those separate categories?
Jones: Sure. So-uh, so I- I- I it did give us some- some ideas of- of what those type of needs
could be. Um,things like a community kitchen,uh,those are kind of expensive tags,
right? So brick-and mortar,purchasing land. I think we know well that-that land is not
cheap in Iowa City. And so we anticipate that if those type of projects come - come
presented to us,that they're going to need more of,uh, an infusion to get off get off the
ground. And- and we're still going to be looking for,um,you know leveraging,um,
dollars as much as possible. And- and that's why we really made a big point to push for
partnerships. And it may even be that even partnerships that they haven't identified right
now,there may be other partnerships that through,um,this process we can marry or at
least start conversations amongst organizations to try and help those dollars go,you
know, a little further. But obviously support services are going to be just as important.
Uh, and those are mostly you know people driven and so we-we anticipate maybe those
might look like loan programs or things that might even be revolving where the resources
can be used over and over,those kind of things. Um, it's just hard to know exactly what
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work
session of March 7, 2023.
Page 24
we came in and we have the ability to adjust based on what comes in. So obviously, if
more support services concepts come in,then the brick-and-mortar then we could change
those-those numbers around.
Teague: And last question, I know I have councilors ready to respond,which is great. Um,
leveraging-- Is there a little flexibility because we- I heard Mayor Pro Tem just
mentioned some of those timelines. For some pro-uh, for some programs funded
programs like RCW, our CDBG funds. Um,you know,those application opportunities
would be paths for this upcoming,uh, fiscal 24 year,um. So will there be some flexibility
for people to,um, leverage future money or is- do they have to spend the money kind of
in a- in a quick go around?
Jones: I think we always have to keep our mind on the overall ARPA requirements of- of
spending,which I think is in 2026, if I'm correct. And so,um, we got to keep in mind on
that. But I think the-the way that is set up,there's probably going to be phases of- of
aspects of,you know,project, especially if it's something that might require, um, some
engineering or- or some architectural design or something like that. Obviously,you
know,we-we-we'll want to probably have to work through,maybe even help them get
the necessary professional,um, assistance to get those kind of plans together. Uh, so- so
there's probably- it's not going to just be a big rush, I don't think,you know the go-you
know,right out the door,but it also probably depends on,you know,what were pre-
presented. Like a- a loan program may just be,hey,we-we-we establish a- a loan
reserve and we-you give that money out and then that program starts running. So it just
really kinda depends.
Teague: All right. Thank you.
Goers: Mr. Mayor,before the-you open up the council discussion, can I make one brief
comment about the vernacular?
Teague: Yes.
Goers: I would really,uh, encourage council members to adopt the vernacular of underestimated,
um,businesses,uh,that has been used here. As you can imagine,we don't want to be
exclusionary based on any protected classes. You also probably saw in the memo that
there are some references to the Iowa Targeted Small Business Programs,which includes,
uh,not only,uh,minority-owned businesses,but businesses that are owned by women or
disabled veterans or others with disabilities. Uh, we would intend the program be open to
all of those groups. And of course,uh, one of the considerations could be how much the
applicant has been underestimated based on their,uh, classifications or characteristics
and so forth. So I just want to encourage the adoption of that vernacular. Thank you.
Teague: Thank you.
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work
session of March 7, 2023.
Page 25
Taylor: Thank you for that,Eric. And thank you Redmond. And kind of on-on those lines,uh, as
we know, Iowa City has become very diverse over the last few years, and- and the
council and the City over the last few years have been requested many times for
informational things that have gone out to be put out in multi-languages. Uh, is that a
possibility with this program to have information about it as well as the application
process be submitted in- in other languages?
Jones: Oh, absolutely. Yeah. We've already kinda had some kinda conversations about that. Um,
what those languages are,we're still, you know-
Taylor: Right.
Jones: Uh,but yeah, certainly.
Taylor: Thank you.
Harmsen: And then is this deadline still 4:00 PM May 1st or is that just part of the draft?
Jones: So- so right now we want to,you know, give a- about a month-and-a-half,uh, for,um,
the,um-to put the stuff together. Um, we could,you know, depending on what the
council wants to do,we could probably move pretty quickly on,uh, getting it out. And-
and May 1 st was,you know, in the- is on a Monday and fust of the month, so it was a
nice, good, clean date. But,you know, depending on if we need to do some more
adjusting or whatever,we could,you know,just move that date accordingly.
Bergus: I have a few questions. Um, I had the benefit of being on the Council's subcommittee on
the capital side, so I think I maybe had a little more transparency into some of the details
behind the process. So I just have some a little more detailed questions maybe. Um, do
you have a sense of how and where or how you decide how and where, like the
publicizing and promoting and sending this out? I think we've all had conversations with
people who we think we know are gonna be interested,but,um,what's the- sort of the, I
don't know, intentional way that you intend to do that?
Jones: Well,we're getting so much interests. We definitely have like a little bit of the email tree
already.
Bergus: Okay.
Jones: Because,you know, actually I had- I hadn't- didn't show didn't give anything out yet,but I
had two meetings just leading up to this one just to say it's coming, it's coming and,um,
giving them some- some basics. So,uh, I- I think the word of mouth is going to be also a
big piece,but we're definitely going to do our- our- our due diligence on the website,
and- and,uh, I think there's probably a good case to do a little,um,hand delivering to
some of the folks that I know have already expressed interest, and I know that they're also
very interested in doing so. One of the interesting things, almost all the folks that show
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work
session of March 7, 2023.
Page 26
interest want others to be involved. Like everyone says, I don't want to be the only one.
So I- I think this is going to,you know,really get out there. So we're-we'll really press
hard on getting that information out.
Dunn: I would just emphasize,uh,the priority that I would personally place on some of those
more hands-on interactions, especially with members of our immigrant community or
folks that don't speak English. Um, I think like was mentioned, er, either at last meeting
or the meaning prior,um, sometimes those communities need a little bit more of a- of a
hands-on touch and someone to look in the eyes to,uh,to feel trusting and to also,um,
ask questions and better understand the information so that they can get the outcome that
we're looking for. So I would just, er, you know, emphasize the importance of that from
me personally.
Jones: Yep.
Dunn: Thank you.
Jones: Thank you.
Bergus: Um,just in the draft of the actual request for statement of interests, on page 2,there was
a part that I- I don't know if I'm misunderstanding it or maybe there's a word that needs to
be added. Under the eligibility criteria on the fourth bullet, the secen- second sentence
says,"this is about proposing organizations,must be able to demonstrate an
organizational ability to manage significant grant and/or loan funds. This does not
preclude organizations that do have said experience from applying." Should that be do
not or are we saying it's okay if you've gotten grants before?
Fruin: I think that should be do not. I think that's a- it's an oversight on-
Bergus: Okay.
Fruin: -on that one.
Bergus: Thank you. Because I think the intent was to provide that technical assistance.
Jones: Right.
Bergus: And like you were saying,maybe even connect them with other people who would have
expertise. Okay. Awesome. Thank you.
Jones: Yeah. Great.
Alter: I love this. And, like Laura,um, I was fortunate enough to be on the capital grants,we
were representing council on that. And so my questions are kinda coming from some of
the things that cropped up from there. And I was wondering,um, if in the LOI or- or in a-
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work
session of March 7, 2023.
Page 27
in the ask that we have for- for the LOI, if there was a suggested like minimum and
maximum ask. Um,And if there's not,that's fine. I can imagine that there would be a
significant number of like lower amounts on the one hand,right? So there would be a lot
to go through, so I don't know if there was any sense of,um,you know, if it's a capital
grant,you know,the asks were like,we want all three million dollars, or we'd like a
million dollars. And that's sort of like-that's sort of where we're at. But I could see
because there is a lot of interest, um, I'm just wondering if- if- if any suggestions or any
discussion by staff had been about minimums. And it may not be that that's where you
wanna go, and that's fine, I just was curious about that.
Jones: Yeah. We-we, oh, I'm sorry. Go ahead. If you-
Alter:No go ahead because then mine's slightly-
Jones: I was just going to say,yeah,we-there has been a lot of conversation on that. And we-we
suspect that we could get some things that might be like actual- a landscape business--I
want a lawn mower to-to do that and- and- and a lot of those kind of things we-we're
hoping would be the next stage of whatever bigger support service initiative is pulled
together. So we're-we're going to still want to get those in. Um, and this is where I think
this process helps out where we'll still be able to keep those, and if people are- are bigger
initiatives that are going to be helping smaller businesses and the support services,they
can have an instant,you know, client base right there. Um,because people might be out
there, it might not be appropriate for that type of small thing in- in this grant process at
this point. But it might make total sense once whatever concept we get in and they're
doing say small business loans,then we provide that money to provide that service to
them and they're instantly hooked in. So it kinda just, again, depends on what we get in.
Alter: In that vein, I just have a follow-up question because it's kind of it goes in there with sort
of like having-being able to work as a connector essentially and to maybe a match type
of thing like, oh,this is a- a- a larger entity that wants to bring in,uh, other businesses
under its wing and partner. Um, does that count for startups? The thing that I was noting
with some of the requirements were like,you know, if- if available, give us three years
worth of your,you know,your backup,right, of your-your bonafides. What if it's a
startup? Is there room in here for someone who's saying, I have business plan,but I don't
have a business yet. Um, is that something that can be accounted-
Jones: Yeah.
Alter: -for in here? Or is that- does that too sort of go into like,well, and let's see how we can
partner you?
Jones: Well, it- it is, and so some of the-the,um, language we didn't go into it specifically where
we talked about the targeted small business program and working with companies to- or
businesses or whatever to help them through that process of certification,that's all within
that program. So those startups,they-they go through that process to kinda work through
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work
session of March 7, 2023.
Page 28
providing those kind of essential information. Uh, if not, if you don't have it to help you
build it up and became even somewhat some financial literacy aspects to help develop
becoming a certified,you know,targeted small business. So we- although we're not
requiring that,um,we are saying that we will help a business that needs that assistance go
through that process.
Alter: I do have one more question, I'm sorry. Um. I noted the- a good chunk of this and it may
be allotted in different ways depending on what the applications are better for like larger
capital expenditures,right? The potential of brick-and-mortar built-built- getting land.
But one of the things that I noticed in the survey that came out from Aztec,the number
one problem that most of the underestimated businesses have is rent. Right? And so is
there a place for OpEx requests?Because it seems to me if somebody can say I can lock
in a long-term lease and now have to worry about that,then I can attend to my business
without having to actually worry about getting the land,buying the thing,you know, all
of that. So I'm just wondering, is that something also because I think that that go so well
into the data that Astig found.
Jones: Yeah,that's also in part of it. Yeah.
Fruin: Yeah. If I can,um,maybe just elaborate and take a-take a step back in focus in on what
we're looking for here. Because this, as- as Redmond said the-the stage at which an
individual business may say, I need help with inventory or rent or,uh,marketing,
whatever that is,that's probably one step removed from this one. So what we're looking
at,this one is- is kind of a- a framework, okay? So you've got two categories,the physical
space. The physical space isn't really physical space for an individual business. We're
talking about physical space for business hubs,uh, collaboration spaces. So this could be,
um, a- a-um, a space that has a commercial kitchen and maybe vendor space for five or
six retailers. It doesn't need to be defined who those retailers are right now,but you're
creating a framework and the idea is that individual businesses will come and go over
time but this system is there to help small businesses over the long haul. So that's the
physical space piece. It's really looking at collaborative spaces,not spaces designed for
an individual business in this moment in time. And then that second program are those
business support programs. That's exactly what you're talking about. Maybe it's a
program to help subsidize rent,maybe it's a program that provides uh low-interest
financing to acquire inventory,uh, could be technical assistance. It's- it's,uh, contracting
with an accounting firm to,uh,provide services or a website designer to provide services
to a group of businesses. So we're looking through this program to create systems and
places for multiple businesses to benefit from. And then once those programs are
executed, say we contract with organization X to run a- a revolving loan program,that's
when individual businesses will apply. And we know that's going to be a little confusing
out of the gate here,which is one of the different things that we're recommending that we
do with this one compared to the non-profit capital grant program,which was a little
more straightforward, is an- is an open house. So after we issue this,we let it sit out for a
week or two and then we have an open house where we can work through some of those
questions,whether it's an individual business and where do I fit in here, or it's a larger
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work
session of March 7, 2023.
Page 29
organization that has questions about,you know,what's the minimum grant or maximum
grant.
Alter: Thank you. That's really helpful. But thanks.
Fruin: Yeah.
Teague: So I guess,uh,next steps for the council at this point would be,uh,to kinda,you know,
are there any recommendations of changes or any um- or are we ready to say to the staff
thumbs up, or a head nod, and then...
Jones: And we will add a"not."
Teague: Yeah with that one change,thank you, Councilor Bergus. And then as-would now be a
good time for us to even identify who might be,um, from the council or that would be the
representatives. So I- I see the memo says two. And I would,thank you. I- I- I want to be
one of them. Anyone else who has an interest?
Alter: I definitely have interest.
Teague: Interest,yeah.Yeah-yeah. The only thing I-I will say is um beco-just know that,um,
whoever is on this,um, look at some of the organizations you're a part of that might
apply,make sure,you know,there's no conflict of interest. But other than that,um,who
would like to be a part of this? Okay. All right.
Harmsen: I would as well. So would this be something to sit on and think about to the next
meeting?We're not going to start to review process tomorrow, so that might be
something to.
Fruin: I think the-the next meeting would probably be fine,but,um,the councilor or councilors
probably want to be a part of that open house so you can hear some of those initial
discussions too. We don't have that scheduled yet, so we could definitely put it after your
next meeting.
Teaegue: Yeah. All right. So we'll just have this just identify those individuals that will be,um,
from the council representative. Thank you so much.
Jones: Welcome.
5. University of Iowa Student Government(USG) Updates
Teague: All right,we're going to bring up USG,uh, to give us some reports. And welcome to
both of you.
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work
session of March 7, 2023.
Page 30
Zeimet: Hi council. Uh, so we just have four announcements here. Uh, starting with election
season is starting for USG and then,uh,we're gonna have out student elections open up
March 27th through the 29th and then a group of USG members are visiting the Capitol
in Des Moines tomorrow.
LeFevre: Yeah, awesome. And then USG just passed a bill that would allow students to have
mental health days. Um, so that'll be enacted within the next semester. And then last
Wednesday,multiple USG members attended the local high school organized walk-out in
protest of the current Anti-LGBTQ,uh, legislation and the state legislature. Keaton and I
were there and we ran into Mayor Teague,uh, and multiple,uh,Johnson County
Supervisors. And so we just wanted to update you guys on that.
Zeimet: Thank you.
Teague: Thank you both. All right. And council,we'll save our um updates on boards and
assignments and commissions until,um, our formal meeting. With that we will be-
Goers: I- I just- go ahead. I was waiting to see what you were gonna say.
Teague: We're gonna actually yeah-we're going to actually be adjourned.
Goers: Oh so you don't want to come back to the council updates, or you guys usually do that at
the end of...
Teague: We'll do that at the formal, is included. Thank you.
Goers: Sure. Thank you.
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work
session of March 7, 2023.