A Bush administration proposal for a massive cut to community grants used to help poor neighborhoods and their residents has local nonprofits seriously concerned particularly since many already face dwindling contributions.
Community Development Block Grants are one of the last ways the federal government directly contributes to programs in cities with low-income areas. The Bush administration could cut the funding up to 50 percent in an attempt to shave billions from the bloated federal budget, according to a report in the New York Times yesterday.
For years, the city of San Mateo received $700,000 to $1 million in federal entitlements for help in low-income areas such as the North Central and Shoreview neighborhoods.
Last year, San Mateo awarded grants between $10,000 and $15,000 to 17 different agencies. At least half of the $175,000 doled out last year could be cut, said Robert Muehlbauer, neighborhood improvement and housing manager for the city of San Mateo.
For San Mateo nonprofits like the Samaritan House and the Mid-Peninsula Boys and Girls Club, it means another year of competitive bidding for less money.
"Every year there seems to be less and less money available. It's significant because it's local money used directly for our kids." said Dan Dadoun, executive director of the Mid-Peninsula Boys and Girls Club.
A few years ago, San Mateo could afford to give $30,000 to the Boys and Girls Club, but a string of small budget cuts have sliced that number in half. Last year, San Mateo contributed $15,000 and next year it could be even less. The organization's total budget last year was $1.8 million.
The cuts won't hit Samaritan House as hard because they operate with twice the budget, said Executive Director Kitty Lopez.
Its total budget is $3.7 million and collected $15,000 from San Mateo this year.
City officials and community activists are paying close attention to the upcoming budget negotiations and are already talking about ways to organize and lobby against the cuts, Muehlbauer said.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.