Economics

Help Plan Marin’s Future Funding Priorities

Published

7 years ago

July 27, 2019

Spending for multi-year federal grant and state funding initiatives will be influenced by resident feedback

State and federal funding is available to help counties address community issues such as behavioral health services and critical housing needs. Marin County is asking for help in prioritizing future spending by better understanding the concerns of residents.

A series of planning meetings will take place in July and August where residents will discuss a range of community issues such as mental health services and prevention efforts, substance use treatment and prevention, affordable housing needs, community facilities and park improvements, and public services.

Feedback gathered from the focus group sessions will be used by Marin Health and Human Services Department (HHS) and Community Development Agency (CDA) to inform three separate grant funding plans: the Mental Health Services Act 3-Year Plan, the Substance Use Services 5-Year Plan, and Housing and Federal Grants Division’s 5-Year Consolidated Plan. The new plans will go into effect on July 1, 2020.

“Our intent is to work alongside residents to develop a shared, community vision for services that are culturally competent and assist those with the greatest need in our community,” said Jillian Zeiger, Planner for Marin’s Community Development Agency. “This is a unique time where all three of these divisions have timelines that overlap, so we can reach a broader audience and address issues in a holistic manner.”

CDA’s Consolidated Plan prioritizes county specific needs for funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Community Development Block Grant program (CDBG) and HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME). These federal grant funds are distributed to eligible projects sponsored by local nonprofit organizations and public agencies and have been used for housing, community facilities, and public services for low- and moderate-income households.

HHS’s Continuum of Substance Use Strategic Plan aims to create a comprehensive approach to preventing, treating and providing ongoing recovery support services for the problems associated with the use of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs in Marin’s Community.

The Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) was approved by voters in 2004 with aim to help transform the public mental health system through community collaboration, client and family member involvement, and a focus on wellness and recovery.

Planning meetings will be held at a variety of locations around Marin:

August 1, 1-3 p.m. – Marin County Office of Education, San Rafael
August 5, 4-6 p.m. – Bayside / Martin Luther King Jr. School, Marin City
August 14, 6-8 p.m. – College of Marin, Kentfield

An additional meeting on August 27, from 4:30 to 6:30pm, will be held at the Marin Health and Wellness Campus in San Rafael to focus specifically on suicide and behavioral health prevention and early intervention. There will be an additional meeting held entirely in Spanish, details will be announced at a later date.

The County hosted a meeting in West Marin on June 18 and will continue to conduct outreach to West Marin residents throughout the planning process.

To ensure broad community engagement, an online survey is also available in English, Spanish and Vietnamese. The online survey will remain open until the fall.

Additional meeting information and notes from previous meetings are available on Marin HHS’s MHSA webpage and the Federal Grants webpage.

Oakland Post

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Activism

At the event, 16 entities signed the EIP pledge, vowing to take steps to increase public contracting opportunities in their spheres for small and historically underutilized businesses. The pledge signees included Hub International, the Port of San Francisco, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, California High-Speed Rail Authority, the Port of Oakland, Robert Graham of Webcor Builders, Holder Construction, the Weitz Company, Sky Blue Builders, Hornblower, Swinerton, Luster National, Talson Solutions, Center for Community Wealth Building, and the Construction Contractors Alliance.

Published

1 week ago

June 24, 2026

Oakland Post

Toks Omishakin, secretary of the California State Transportation Agency, was one of the speakers at the event. Photo by Shellee Fisher Photography and Design.

By Calvin Naito, Special to The Post

On June 4, a national nonprofit named the Equity in Infrastructure Project (EIP) – which aims to increase public construction contracting opportunities for small and historically underutilized businesses – held a day-long event in downtown San Francisco to rally supporters and build momentum to its cause.

It was attended by more than 100 individuals from public agencies, private firms, and other organizations committed to increasing contracting opportunities with governmental agencies, thereby creating more competition and lowering public costs.

The EIP event was held the Hyatt Regency San Francisco in conjunction with BuildIT, which aims to increase contracting opportunities for LGBT-owned businesses.

At the event, 16 entities signed the EIP pledge, vowing to take steps to increase public contracting opportunities in their spheres for small and historically underutilized businesses.

The pledge signees included Hub International, the Port of San Francisco, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, California High-Speed Rail Authority, the Port of Oakland, Robert Graham of Webcor Builders, Holder Construction, the Weitz Company, Sky Blue Builders, Hornblower, Swinerton, Luster National, Talson Solutions, Center for Community Wealth Building, and the Construction Contractors Alliance.

Following the workshop, BuildIT hosted a VIP evening reception honoring EIP, whose principals – Phil Washington, John Procari, and Rick Jacobs – accepted the award.

The event also set in motion the coalition’s efforts to implement recommendations from EIP’s “Procurement for Prosperity: A Playbook.”

The Playbook is a practical guide for public agency leaders and procurement and contracting practitioners to grow the capacity of small and first-time contractors, strengthen competition, and deliver better value for taxpayers.

Toks Omishakin, Secretary of the California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA), a long-time EIP supporter, also told attendees, “This is about commitment. This has been a life’s work. This is a tailwind moment.”

The event’s presenting sponsor was Hub International, one of the largest insurance brokerages in the nation, which was joined by partners Travelers Insurance and the State Compensation Insurance Fund.

After the pledge-signing ceremony, attendees participated in a workshop in which they examined the policies, practices, and programs needed to meet EIP goals, learned from practitioners, and identified next steps toward utilizing the Playbook.

Ingrid Meriwether, formerly of Merriwether & Williams Insurance Services (MWIS) and current president of Hub International’s Aligned Risk Management, MWIS, described the hard-fought lessons she and her MWIS team have learned over the last three decades administering contractor development programs (CDPs) for the City and County of San Francisco, Alameda County, City of Los Angeles, LA Metro, and other municipalities.

The CDPs help small and local construction firms win public infrastructure contracts with these government agencies. The program provides bonding assistance, contract financing, technical support, training, and other services to underrepresented businesses funded by public agencies who seek greater contracting participation with these firms.

Merriwether said programs like these “break down systemic barriers, create greater fairness, and save taxpayers money by enabling more competition. The contractor development programs have, cumulatively, over two decades, helped contractors access over $1 billion in bonding, supporting over $380 million in awarded contracts, and maintaining a loss ratio 250 times lower than the industry average – while saving participating municipalities more than $27 million in contracting costs as a result of enabling more competition.”

Rick Jacobs, EIP co-founder and co-chair urged attendees make plans to meet again in the near future “to continue building on this work, share progress on organizational commitments, and discuss how we can collectively advance the goals of the EIP pledge.”

For more information on the EIP and to access a copy of the Playbook, go online to https://equityininfrastructure.org/

Calvin Naito is communications manager for Equity in Infrastructure Project.