The Office of Community Care and Empowerment briefed the Workforce Education and Equity Committee on the city’s free tax-preparation program (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance, or VITA) and Financial Empowerment Center (FEC) contracting status.

Program results: Jessica Galsha said the program’s most recent reporting year included more than 11,000 tax returns prepared, bringing more than $10,000,000 in refunds back to community members and saving participants an estimated $4,000,000 in paid tax-preparation fees. Staff said about $2,700,000 of the refunds came from the federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). "This program really is doing what it aims to do, which is making sure to reach a large number of low income people and helping to make sure that they're able to get the maximum refund," Galsha said.

Contracting and procurement: Staff said the city completed a procurement process for the next contracting period but that one solicitation has been cancelled and a new NOFA (Notice of Funding Availability) will be developed to align grant and philanthropic funding with the program. Staff said the existing contractors had contract extensions in place and that one contractor has exhausted its existing contract funding and paused operations; another contractor continues to operate under remaining funds. Galsha said leadership directed the cancellation of the pending solicitation so staff could retool the procurement and funding approach given updated city fiscal priorities.

Council concerns and partner payment issue: Council members expressed concern about city payment timing and the effect on nonprofit partners. A committee member said one nonprofit partner had been unpaid for four months and had to furlough eight workers; staff said the partner has since been paid. Committee members asked for a review of outstanding payments older than 60 days and emphasized the importance of timely payments so community partners remain operational.

Outreach and access: Committee members asked about bilingual services and community outreach to ensure higher participation, particularly among populations that do not commonly use paid tax-preparation services. Staff said partner organizations provide bilingual services and that the tax program uses community partnerships, billboards, social media and media partners for outreach. Staff agreed to provide a more detailed list of outreach activities and placements to the committee.

Next steps: Staff said they will prepare a new NOFA and seek to combine grant, philanthropic and city resources to continue the services. Committee members urged staff to provide clearer communications, a list of outreach channels and a detailed timeline for restoring full service availability.