HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 05062003 - D1 R I
THE ARD O-&' SUPERVISORS
CONTRA C"OSTA. COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
Date: Ia:s' ;0-' Public{omrr€e€
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being a yel'.;ow ribbon €aunty aril elle history behind Taos,-
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reque-s ed the County to r~cztif,% the Uiion regarding budge, cuts - 1 yoff's
Dr Barbara, Burin McCull o€,gh. Executive Direc°ter. Perinatal Council, "egar n;_S
10 cUts to the Gomm, nit % Service Block Grant cont acts without a public process,
C'he poiGrover, 'Q 16 Pa n Ave., is(a t 3e%; rea"i-ding of Co Community
Service Block Grant- contracts;
Liz Calkahail, Contractors' Mia-lice Of COr£tra Cost-: County, 29"77 Y«racio Val"
13' a91`.L Creek. £e:x €Sid cuts to the Css€n 3iri£ty Service Block Grant contracts;
F Jay Lut t 533 Churchill Downs Court, W<lma Creek, regarir�g Ec-anomic
pport-ilnit es Council,
,rHIS IS AIMAJ-1-ER. FOR RECORD PURPOSES 0NLV
O BOARD ERCT ION 'WAS TAKEN
AIE AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERS INC.
Regional Government 9-counties
74-school di;
102-cities
Fun _Agency .
Education Parks Library
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Service Agency
Transportation Water Sanitary s¢
Power Communications Waste
Care agency
Public Safety Hospital Coroner/Cemetary
Three regional agencies replace the existing structures. .Each
agency has an elected board. The sub-agencies do not.
Issues of real estate/land use, elections and pensions are handled
each separately.
The above depicts the changes desired within the San Francisco
Bay Area.
800 John Street 8101 Pinole CA 94564-1375 F/V 510.724.X380
www.members-aie.org aie@members-aie.org
Good morning, my name is Cheryll Grover. For eight
years, ending in June of last year, I had the privilege of
serving as the District 2 Supervisor's delegate on the
County's Economic opportunity Council. For the last
two years I served as the FOC Chair.
One of the most significant responsibilities of the
FCC has been the annual award of about 650
thousand dollars of Community Services Block
Grant that is received from. the Federal
Government and we appropriate about half of
that to various community based nonprofit
organizations.
To make those awards, FCC members spent
many hours of volunteer time over several
months each year holding public hearings,
preparing and adopting a Community Action
Plan., preparing a Request for proposals,
reviewing applications and interviewing
applicants, and then providing for even more
public comment.
No one grant was very large, but every one of
them was important to the nonprofit recipient.
Last year, for example, grants ranging from.
$ 13,400 to $50,000 were made to ten
organizations, such as the Cambridge
Community Center, the Diablo Valley AIDS
Center and. the Family Stress Center, all based
in Concord, the Perinatal Council, based. in
Pittsburg, Shelter Inc. from Martinez, Nest
County Adult Day Care from Richmond, and
Village Resource Center in Brentwood. The total
of those 10 year long allotments was approx.
$213,000.
In addition $95,000 was awarded to the
County's Health Services Department -Homeless
Program, and $25,000 was awarded to the
Employment and. Human Services Department
for One Stop Career Centers.
I was steeply saddened to learn, at a "special
meeting" of the BCC on April 3rd, which I
attended as an observer, that the Community
Services Department planned to cancel the
remaining few months of the CSBG contracts
that were awarded in Tune of last year.
Additionally, according to the Department staff,
there would not be any CSBG :money in the
foreseeable future for any more awards to
non-profit community or aa.n.izations. The CSBG
funds previously used for those awards would be
used to preserve Community Services staff
positions and existing Department staff and
resources would tare over providing services
that the nonprofit organizations had been
providing. Historically, the more expensive way
of delivering services.
The reason? EOC members were told that the
Department had budget difficulties but the exact
$ amount was unclear. The major reasons for
those budget woes involved employee retirement
shortfalls and cost of living increase
commitments not covered by revenue's and
other funding.
Community Services Department staff asked the
EOC to support its decision to terminate the last
quarter of the existing CSB+G awards. After
considerable and intense discussion, CSD staff
further explained that BOC approval was not
necessary and CSD would proceed with the
termination no matter what the ECIC decided.
The EOC voted to oppose the action. Many
members were frustrated by the extremely
limited and confusing information that they were
given. Virtually all of the members opposed for
reasons of equity and ,justice to the low income
populations, feeling that the County had an
obligation to at least complete whatever program
it had started, and to not loch the doors on the
nonprofit grantees with only a few more months
of the grant period to complete.
At that moment, I could never have been more
proud of a group of volunteers who have struggled
against endless barriers put up by some others, f or
them to accomplish the purpose and goals that
PERSONALLY brought then to this huge
commitment to the public on their behalf.
But I also became more confused and skeptical
the more information I was later able to obtain
to try to fill in the many gaps left by the
presentation made by Community Services
Department.
The NEXT day (after the ECSC meeting), at least
the 10 outside agencies of the 12 contractors
were called. by Com Services, and advised that
their funding would be withdrawn for the last
three months of their contracts. A letter
followed up the phone calls to confirm in writing
but the reason given was different. They were
told it was because of a cut in Federal funding
for CSBG for the year 2003.
My research has found that the State CSL
acknowledges there was a "cut" in Federal
funding, but that the State is granting the
additional funding to cover that amount. (The
amount was less than $300,000 to the entire
State of California. I don't knew what portion of
that reduction our County gets, but the
numbers don't add up for it to equal 1l4 of the
contractors' allotments. And since most of the
no -ew-
CSBG money already goes to employees and
overhead., I have to question the ethics that
would take the smallest piece of the pie back, to
additionally pay for employees and overhead.
Especially since the real problem that created
the disparity is more of a County general
problem, and seemingly unrelated to, thset'�' 4�-Federal funding. - ,
The EOC was supposed to review
pp the
Community Services Department CSBG budget
at the April regular meeting (which was
canceled), then the May meeting, and is now
moved again to the June meeting.
The decision letter was sent to the contractors
butwas not even copied to any members of the
EOC.
Copies went to : Director of Community Services,
Director of Head Start, and even Asst. Director
of Head Start. Not even a draft copy was viewed
by any EOC member.
We're talking about a few - but precious -
dollars, that would save community projects
from being terminated 90 days before their
completion, which provided services that help
stabilize some of the most disenfranchised and
fragile folks in the community. Folks who have
been severely impacted by the economy BEFORE
the recent slump, and more people adding to
their numbers, everyday.
I think if this move was necessary and above
reproach then it should be brought out into
the light of day. The EEC should be provided
with complete and clearly understandable
information, in writing, ... to know what the
situations are, what the dollars are, and open
this up to discussion with the intent to be
solving the problem, with the same effort
that we determined the best practices in the
f first place. At feast some attempt should be
made to allow the EEC -and others- to
address possible solutions, and to give the
twelve organizations that received awards
some due process right of appeal.
What a shame that May is Community Action
Month in Contra Costa County because of the
of forts of the volunteer group, the Economic
Opportunity Council, but pretty soon you may
not even need the E 0 C because there will be
"staff" f or that.
Thank you.
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