Wednesday, March 26, 2003
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Wednesday, March 26, 2003 |
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PTC votes to maintain funding of nonprofits By J. FRANK LYNCH
At least two Fayette County nonprofit groups breathed a sigh of temporary relief after the Peachtree City City Council agreed last Thursday to maintain current levels of funding for those groups through the end of this year. A change to a city administration regulation, or CAR, reduces the total amount of funds made available to nonprofit civic groups, agencies or school organizations to $25,000 annually, and individual requests may not total more than $5,000. That threatened the budgets of Fayette Senior Services, which was promised $7,500 from the city this year, and the Council on Domestic Violence, which was counting on $6,500 in funds. The change in the way the city council dishes up taxpayer funds for nonprofits angered some traditional recipients, like the Boy Scouts and Kiwanis Club, but the council reassured members of groups that call Peachtree City home would continue to receive support. At issue were groups like the Council on Domestic Violence, a countywide agency that helps victims far beyond the city limits. "The majority of domestic violence incidents we deal with do come from Peachtree City," said Bonnie Campbell, director of the council. Of 416 people helped by her council last year, Campbell said 28 percent were from Peachtree City, while just 27 percent lived in the unincorporated part of the county, she told the council. A victims support group meets at a Peachtree City church, she said, and her group supplies the Peachtree City Police Department with tools and training for dealing with domestic abuse cases. Peachtree City is the only municipal government that gives to the group, she said. The County Commission funds $10,000 annually of the council's $141,000 budget, Campbell said. Another $10,000 comes courtesy of a crime victims fund, and last year the group earned $38,000 from sales at the Fayette Thrift Shop. "The rest, we have to hustle for," said Campbell. Wallace Kite, representing Fayette Senior Services, offered figures in support of his agency keeping city funding intact. He said Peachtree City's $7,500 donation makes up just 1 percent of the annual budget, but that 36 percent of the agency's home-bound services, such as meals-on-wheels, go to Peachtree City addresses. Councilman Dan Tennant, who has supported tightening the belt when it comes to nonprofit funding, said the council for many years had "the authority to write a blank check" when groups came calling. Now, he said, when the money runs out, it's gone. "First come, first served." "We're facing a budget crunch," Tennant said. "We have to be creative, be tough." Councilwoman Annie McMenamin said the two groups provided services far more valuable than what the city was paying them. "I'm very committed to these organizations and think they are worthy of city funding," she said. Councilman Steve Rapson, saying it wouldn't be fair to cut the groups off now, suggested that they be "grandfathered" in and receive their full funding. Councilman Murray Weed said he views such nonprofit groups as "city vendors," independent businesses that provide vital services that the city needs. "It's definitely not a handout," Weed said. "We're paying for a service that directly benefits Peachtree City." Tennant asked that funding requests be dealt with fairly and that politics be left out of the equation in the future. "If it's the will of everybody else to keep funding this, then I'm OK with it," he said. Weed said he didn't see how politics played into the matter. McMenamin threatened to vote against it, though she supported the nonprofits, saying it wasn't clear how many Peachtree City residents benefited. Rapson asked city staff to research the numbers and report back to council for future reference. And with that, the change in funding procedures, with the grandfather clause, was approved unanimously.
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