After a year in which city staff picked the grant winners on their own, Pleasanton's Human Services Commission is getting its say back over how the city divides money among local nonprofits, starting with a meeting Wednesday to set the priorities that the next round of applicants will be judged against.
The commission meets at 6 p.m. Oct. 7 in the City Council Chamber, 200 Old Bernal Ave., and the meeting will be streamed on the city's YouTube channel.
A pause, and a return
The Housing and Human Services Grant program pools federal Community Development Block Grant and HOME money with city funds to pay for services aimed at lower-income residents. For the 2026-27 cycle, the staff report says, the commission was paused because of budget reductions and staffing limits.
Staff instead ran a pilot qualifications process and made the funding recommendations, deliberately funding fewer programs more fully, with an emphasis on basics such as food and stable housing.
The City Council approved that round on May 19: about $384,000 in CDBG funds, about $66,000 in HOME funds, about $402,000 from the city's affordable housing fees and $100,000 from the general fund, roughly $953,000 in all.
With a new commission structure now in place, the program returns to commission review. On Wednesday the panel is asked to adopt a Statement of Priorities covering two years, 2027-28 and 2028-29, instead of the usual one. The list used in recent cycles includes disability services, food and nutrition, health and behavioral health care, homelessness in the Tri-Valley, senior services, workforce development and youth services.
Staff surveyed nonprofits that have received or sought grants and will share the anonymized results at the meeting.
