The City Commission approved a $500,000 disbursement to a management company to provide student worker pay, payroll administration, talent operations, and program management of the GRow1000 summer work program.
The city’s GRow1000 youth jobs program has been implemented by city staff in the past, but the request would outsource that task to Management Business Solutions.
The Commission passed the resolution with no comment.
The Program
GRow1000 is a youth employment program aimed at giving part-time summer jobs to teenagers and young adults ages 15-24 who live in Grand Rapids.
According to the city’s website, GRow1000 is an equity-based program, meaning it specifically tries to distribute jobs to curb racial and economic disparities, though it does not appear that there are measurable metrics guiding the hiring process.
“GRow1000 was launched the summer of 2020 in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing racial and economic disparities,” the website says.
The City of Grand Rapids contributes to the program on the grounds that it aids in youth development and “governmental excellence,” which means embedding equity throughout the government in coordination with fiscally responsible aims.
The young adults who participate in the program are matched to work sites based on expressed interests. They are placed at participating local businesses, nonprofits, higher-education institutions, and government entities.
The Proposal
In the past, the program has been operated by city staff. But due to efforts to expand the program, the city’s human resources department has requested that the city contract out the program’s administration to Management Business Solutions.
The $500,000 contract will pay for payroll administration, talent acquisition, and program management, as well as the payroll for student worker wages.
The meeting agenda says that running the six-week program “has been very burdensome for City staff,” often causing a “disruption or pause in other activities in Human Resources and Fiscal Services Departments.”
As for program additions, they will include “candidate screening, interviews and job fairs in effort to provide more opportunities and tools for participants.”
“The additional costs for the new programing [sic] as well as the mark up cost for using a staffing agency will be absorbed by the City,” the proposal adds.
The Money
The GRow1000 program receives funding from both public and private sources.
The City of Grand Rapids allocated approximately $441,000 for the program for Fiscal Year 2025.
Private employers that participate in the program pay a $2,200 per-youth placement fee, and nonprofits pay $1,100 per.
The program also relies on donations and sponsorships to pay for bus passes, food, supplies, workshops, and events.
The new resolution, were it to prove a recurring budget item, would more than double the city’s annual contribution to the program.