As the Howard County Council begins parsing through the operating budget proposal, nonprofits are urging members not to dip into their pots.
“County funding is absolutely critical to our organization,” Jackie Eng, head of Congregations Concerned for the Homeless, said at a recent budget public hearing.
From organizations tackling homelessness to centers supporting domestic violence victims, Howard?s nonprofits rallied for full funding through county grants and the budgets for the Citizens Services and Housing departments.
County Executive Ken Ulman?s proposal includes $4.7 million in grants to nonprofits through the Community Service Partnership Program. This amount is less than this year?s $5.3 million, but Ulman touted in his proposal an overall 9.4 percent increase for community services, including transportation, human services and public health.
The council is set to approve the proposed $1.4 billion operating budget May 22.
For Congregations Concerned for the Homeless, which provides transitional and permanent housing, the grants provide about halfof the organization?s funding, Eng said.
The budget request includes more than $1.2 million for the Grassroots Crisis Intervention Center, which represents a 10 percent increase, Executive Director Andrea Ingram told council members.
The increase is needed for additional positions to staff the expanded location. Grassroots? new, expanded facility in Columbia will allow it to provide more than 50 beds and expanded crisis intervention services.
A few nonprofits lauded Ulman?s inclusion of more police officers, particularly for the year-old domestic violence unit.
“They truly need additional support to help their unit and our clients,” said Jodi Finkelstein, executive director of the Domestic Violence Center of Howard County.
Carol Filipczak, chairwoman of the county?s Public Transportation Board, asked the council to fund the $2.7 million request for 14 hybrid buses to replace the aging Howard Transit fleet.
But the budget only funds current routes and schedules, she said,
“At a time of rising gas prices, we should be expanding the route and increasing frequency,”Filipczak said.
