Uma Ramiah Photos
As private social-service agencies gird for block-grant cuts from City Hall, a city official promised that government agencies would not get preferential treatment in dividing up a dwindling pool of money.
Elizabeth Smith (pictured above) made that promise during an aldermanic hearing at City Hall Wednesday night to begin the process of putting together the coming fiscal year’s budget for distributing federal block grants to city agencies and private not-for-profits.
“This is a five-year work in progress,” said Smith, project coordinator for the New Haven Office of Management and Budget, as she presented the Board of Aldermen’s Joint Community Development Human Services Committee with heavy binders chock full of information.
“We really just put a book together of the overall process.”
Through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), New Haven receives money each year through Community Development Block Grants (CDBG). Using a competitive grant process, the city gives that money out to its own social service branches as well as not-for-profits.
Other HUD grants New Haven receives include HOME Investment Partnership, Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA), and Emergency Shelter Grant (ESG).
As cities brace for expected cutbacks in those federal grants, New Haven will likely need to reduce funding across the board.
Last week, aldermen received the mayor’s budget detailing plans for dispersing CDBG funds, taking into account a potential $600,000 overall reduction.
The committee has scheduled six hearings through March to review the cuts and hear pleas from city agencies and non-profits — all of whom will do their best to keep their money. Aldermen will hear from three categories of grant recipients: city activities, social service programs and building or construction projects. The final two meetings are reserved for deliberation.
Tuesday’s workshop, the first of the six planned meetings, featured Smith’s presentation of the Consolidated Housing and Community Development Annual Action Plan for 2010 – 2011.
Smith went over the contents of the thick binders, which included a list of not-for-profits which submitted applications for this fiscal year, rejection letters, funding summary reports and the proposed budget — with potential cuts.
Amid the mountains of paper, the focus was on making the grant process transparent, and on those possible 15 percent across-the-board cuts.
Fair Haven Alderman Joseph Rodriguez thanked Smith for her work. “I think this package is informational, especially for our freshman colleagues,” he said. “But regarding the proposal, this represents the decrease we might get from the [federal] government, right?”
That’s correct, said Smith. “It could be less or more.”
The federal government has yet to announce how deep the cuts will be.
“So as a normal process, we’d reduce and increase funding across the board based on what the final numbers are?” Rodriguez asked. There was agreement in the room.
“And based on testimony, we can decide whether someone needs more or less,” said committee co-chair Edgewood Alderman Marcus Paca.
Some aldermen raised questions about the process itself. New Haven Aldermen Charles Blango and Downtown Alderwoman Frances (Bitsie) Clark asked if city government agencies would get preference over private not-for-profits. Smith assured them that the government agencies go through the same process as non-profits.
“We’re less concerned about their financial solvency as they’re part of the city,” Smith said. “But they go through the same steps. They have to get their applications in on time, and include all sections.”
I find it amazing from the Aldermen's questions that they still do not realize this is the only pot of money they truly control. However, the Mayor has intimidated them into giving up their say in how this money is distributed. Those of us in the nonprofit community know this is anything but a competitive process! The Mayor rewards his favorite agencies, and those who are not in his good graces -- for any number of petty, vindictive reasons -- get shut out of the process. One last thing, I talk to people in other cities about their use of block grant funding and they are oftyen shocked at how much money the city keeps for itself. The main reason the CDBG grants are so small is that the city uses a good chuck of it for itself. If the Board of Aldermen had any backbone, they would run an open process for distributing the money and hold their ground when the Mayor comes with his "recommendations".