Sec. 84.305. - Application Requirements.

(a) Application Deadline. A requesting agency may submit an Opioid Settlement Proceeds Grant application after the date that the City Council approves the percentage of funds allocated to each Opioid Settlement Proceeds Grant funded category pursuant to this Chapter, but no later than July 1 of each fiscal year. Applications may be submitted in person or electronically as prescribed by the Manager of Opioid Abatement. (b) Application Contents. Each application for an Opioid Settlement Proceeds Grant submitted by a requesting agency pursuant to this Part shall contain the following information: (1) The Eligibility Documents pursuant to Section 84.304 herein. (2) A Cover Page containing the following information: a. Name of the requesting agency; b. Name of the program; c. The Opioid Settlement Proceeds Grant funded category that the program will serve; d. Amount of the appropriation request; e. The fiscal year that the requesting agency is submitting an appropriation request for; f. The following certification executed (electronically or manually) by the executive director, chief executive or operating officer, president, vice president or board chairman in the form below: "I, name/title, hereby certify that the information and representations contained in this fiscal year _______ Opioid Settlement Proceeds Grant application is true and correct." By: _______ Print Name/Title: _______ Date: _______ (3) A section entitled "Agency Background and Experience" containing a description of the agency's board (number of members, length of service of each member, and professional experience of each member), executive staff (e.g., executive director, chief executive or operating officer, chief financial officer), and the agency's experience and accomplishments addressing and/or treating opioid addictions, overdoses, and related mental, physical and familial matters arising from the opioid use, abuse and treatment. This section may without limitation describe the agency's mission, future plans, major programs, licensure, certification or accreditation (maximum three pages). (4) A section entitled "Program Overview" containing a description of the program and how the program will address the prevention, treatment or recovery support related to opioid use and/or abuse for the applicable Opioid Settlement Proceeds Grant funded category applied under. This Section may include without limitation partnerships with other programs or agencies as applicable (maximum three pages). (5) A section entitled "Program Activities" containing a list of all activities that the program will offer or provide and a brief description of each activity (maximum one page). (6) A section entitled "Program Management and General Overhead" containing a description of the management and staff positions that will be needed to successfully operate the program and the general overhead of the agency. This section may include without limitation potential fundraising capacity, plan, strategy and funding partners for the program as well as how the program will be sustained in future years (maximum three pages). (7) A Section entitled "Operating Budget and Budget Narrative" which lists all line-item expenses and revenues to operate the program during the fiscal year and contains a brief description of each line item expense. The expenses and revenues must balance (maximum two pages, not including the approved form). (8) A section entitled "Program Impact and Effectiveness" containing a description of: (i) the program's goals and objectives and how attainment of the goals and objectives will be measured; (ii) the program's achievements during the year immediately preceding the application or, for new programs, a description of national studies, qualitative measures, best practices and successes of similar programs, citing the sources and national standards relied upon for this information; (iii) the projected program impact on the Opioid Settlement Proceeds Grant funded category and the anticipated number of people to be served by the program; and (iv) a listing of each noncompliance incident within the past three years that has resulted in the requesting agency being placed on the Council Auditor's Chapter 118 noncompliance list. Such list shall set forth with respect to each noncompliance incident: (a) the noncompliance dates (e.g., the start date and end date), and (b) an explanation for the noncompliance (maximum four pages, not including the information required in subsection (iv) above). (c) Application Format. The application shall have one-inch margins and contain no more than 16 single-sided double-spaced 8½" by 11" pages. The font style shall be Times New Roman or Arial with a minimum font size of 11 points and a maximum font size of 12. The Cover Page and Eligibility Documents will not be counted as part of the 16-page limit. The Eligibility Documents may be included as appendices. The OSUD Grants Committee may create a form application consistent with the requirements of this Part, provided that the OSUD Grants Committee may not add to or remove any of the application contents prescribed in subsection (b) above without City Council approval. Opioid Settlement Proceeds Grant applications submitted electronically shall approximate the format required in this subsection (c) to the greatest extent possible. (d) Interviews. The OSUD Grants Committee may, in its sole discretion, conduct interviews of requesting agencies in a funding category regarding their respective Opioid Settlement Proceeds Grant applications. If the OSUD Grants Committee elects to interview one requesting agency in an Opioid Settlement Proceeds Grant funded category, the OSUD Grants Committee shall also interview the other requesting agencies in said category. Any interviews conducted by the OSUD Grants Committee pursuant to this Section shall be after the grant application deadline but prior to October 1 of each year. The OSUD Grants Committee shall notify the requesting agency of the place and time of the interviews. Such interviews shall be conducted in the sunshine and for the sole purpose of the requesting agency verbally explaining, clarifying, or justifying to the OSUD Grants Committee any information contained in the requesting agency's application. A requesting agency shall not add any new written information or materials to its application or present any new written information or materials to the OSUD Grants Committee regarding its application, during such interviews. (e) Certain Communications Prohibited During the Application Scoring Period. During the Application Scoring Period, a requesting agency shall be prohibited from communicating with OSUD Grants Committee members, the Manager of Opioid Abatement, and other City employees involved in the Opioid Settlement Proceeds Grants process regarding an application submitted by such agency pursuant to this Section. For purposes of this Section, the "Application Scoring Period" shall mean the period each fiscal year commencing on the day immediately following the OSUD Grants Committee application deadline in Section 84.305 and ending on the day that the Manager of Opioid Abatement has received the scoring for all eligible applications pursuant to Section 84.306 . This prohibition also includes communications by a requesting agency with the City's Office of General Counsel unless the Manager of Opioid Abatement has authorized such communications in advance. This prohibition shall not apply to the following communications: (1) Communications to the Manager of Opioid Abatement regarding matters of process or procedure contained in Chapter 84 , Ordinance Code, including, but not limited to, the grant appeals procedure in Section 84.309 ; (2) Communications during any publicly noticed meeting under F.S. Ch. 286, including, but not limited to, OSUD Grants Committee meetings and subcommittee meetings; and (3) Communications that are necessary and solely related to the ordinary course of business concerning a requesting agency's existing Opioid Settlement Proceeds Grant contract(s), if any. (f) Disqualification; Notification. If a requesting agency's application fails to include the items and section headings specified in this Section 84.305 , or fails to meet the format requirements of 84.305 (c) above, such application shall not be considered and reviewed by the OSUD Grants Committee. As long as an application contains the required section headings outlined above, together with some information describing the same, and is properly formatted, such application shall be deemed to have complied with the requirements of this Section. Failure by a requesting agency to provide adequate information under each required section may result in a lower application score and ranking. The Manager of Opioid Abatement shall notify requesting agencies in writing within three business days of the Manager's decision to qualify or disqualify such requesting agency's application from consideration and review by the OSUD Grants Committee. Such notice shall specify the reasons for the disqualification and the requesting agency's right to appeal the decision pursuant to the procedures set forth in Section 84.309 . The Manager shall inform the OSUD Grants Committee of the requesting agencies deemed by the Manager to be disqualified pursuant to this Section at the earliest OSUD Grants Committee meeting following the staff's determination. (Ord. 2023-350-E , § 2; Ord. 2023-723-E , § 3)