Rhea Rivera, CGFM

Financial Services Director

Issue Statement: In March 2023, the City awarded a contract to RMPK Funding for grant management services under RFP #012623. Services include both grant application development/writing and post-award compliance and reporting activities. The initial term of the agreement was three (3) years, covering March 15, 2023, through March 14, 2026, with options to renew for two (2) additional three-year periods.

This item addresses the first three-year renewal covering March 15, 2026, through March 14, 2029. 

Recommended Action:  Adopt a resolution approving the first three-year renewal of RFP #012623 for Grant Management Services with RMPK Funding, for the period March 15, 2026, through March 14, 2029, and authorizing expenditures exceeding $25,000 per contract year for grant application services, as needed.

The City of Oakland Park is dedicated to providing municipal services, infrastructure, and amenities to its residents in the most efficient, cost-effective manner possible.  As such, the City has aggressively sought grant funding in recent years.  The success of these efforts has allowed the City to make many capital infrastructure improvements that otherwise might not have been possible. 

As grant activity within the City increases in both volume and complexity, additional support is needed to ensure that the City continues to produce competitive grant applications and has appropriate administrative assistance in place to manage the full life-cycle of awarded grants.  Failure to abide by all terms of the granting agency can lead to loss of funds and disqualification from future funding cycles, in addition to possibly placing the City into a "high-risk" category for certain audits.  

Acknowledging the importance of this additional support, the City Commission approved a Business Plan Initiative for "Grant Management Services" as part of the FY 2017 Budget.  These costs have been included in all subsequent business plans adopted by the City Commission.

Given that the renewal of the contract with RMPK Funding will proceed under the same terms and conditions, the annual fee for Grant Management Services will remain unchanged as $20,000/year payable quarterly (see Exhibit B). Sufficient funding for this expense is included in the FY 2026 Adopted Budget of the Financial Services Department.

Grant application fees vary by project and typically range from $2,500 to $6,000, depending on application complexity and technical requirements (see Exhibit B). During FY 2025, the City incurred $45,250 in grant applications costs administered by RMPK Funding.  These costs are charged to the requesting department’s budget and are projected to exceed cumulatively $25,000.