We sent a letter yesterday in support of the three MCA memos on various items. We also support the CCAG memo. We urge you to continue to work to create a viable cannabis program for the hundreds of small farms operating in good faith with Provisional Licenses in Mendocino County. Thank you , Laura & Marty Clein
re: Inclusive input for equitable spending of ARPA (Mendocino County’s nearly $17 million):
1) CEO reports contain only umbrella categories and remaining funds. This is insufficient.
Whereas these funds offer a one time opportunity (in addition to upcoming Infrastructure funds) for prioritizing and responding to community needs, the process needs community input and transparency.
To start, the needed information includes: strategic plan(s) for basis of decision making, sub-categories for funding, remaining funds with a month to month accounting, RFPs/LOI with deadlines, decision makers’ contact info, proposals received and committed, description of community input process with dates, community feedback about process and decisions, and a recording of community feedback on impact on funded projects.
2) Although this documentation is a basis for transparency, extensive outreach is essential to obtain input from community members, CBOs, and small businesses. Extensive means intentional engagement with harder to reach residents with advanced notifications, facilitation through community leaders, access in multiple mediums (no-,low-, and high tech options - not just social media or internet based), in culturally mediated and interpreted/translated language.
The diversity of community members reached is a benchmark for the relevance of strategic direction and priorities of the county. This engagement should be considered a requirement according to the Treasury's urging of governments “to engage their constituents and communities in developing plans to use these payments, given the scale of funding and its potential to catalyze broader economic recovery and rebuilding”.
Please openly discuss this issue to let us know how decisions will be made about these critical funds.
The board must take timely action to ensure transparent, inclusive, and diverse representative input with equitable allocation of this once in a generation opportunity for funding to respond to community needs.
We sent a letter yesterday in support of the three MCA memos on various items. We also support the CCAG memo. We urge you to continue to work to create a viable cannabis program for the hundreds of small farms operating in good faith with Provisional Licenses in Mendocino County. Thank you , Laura & Marty Clein
re: Inclusive input for equitable spending of ARPA (Mendocino County’s nearly $17 million):
1) CEO reports contain only umbrella categories and remaining funds. This is insufficient.
Whereas these funds offer a one time opportunity (in addition to upcoming Infrastructure funds) for prioritizing and responding to community needs, the process needs community input and transparency.
To start, the needed information includes: strategic plan(s) for basis of decision making, sub-categories for funding, remaining funds with a month to month accounting, RFPs/LOI with deadlines, decision makers’ contact info, proposals received and committed, description of community input process with dates, community feedback about process and decisions, and a recording of community feedback on impact on funded projects.
2) Although this documentation is a basis for transparency, extensive outreach is essential to obtain input from community members, CBOs, and small businesses. Extensive means intentional engagement with harder to reach residents with advanced notifications, facilitation through community leaders, access in multiple mediums (no-,low-, and high tech options - not just social media or internet based), in culturally mediated and interpreted/translated language.
The diversity of community members reached is a benchmark for the relevance of strategic direction and priorities of the county. This engagement should be considered a requirement according to the Treasury's urging of governments “to engage their constituents and communities in developing plans to use these payments, given the scale of funding and its potential to catalyze broader economic recovery and rebuilding”.
Please openly discuss this issue to let us know how decisions will be made about these critical funds.
The board must take timely action to ensure transparent, inclusive, and diverse representative input with equitable allocation of this once in a generation opportunity for funding to respond to community needs.