A pledge in 2014 by councillors Ken Johnston and Chak Au to double community grants will have to wait yet another year after Richmond city council approved only a small increase in the money going to non-profit organizations.
Last year, council approved a new funding formula that would see a near 70 per cent increase in funds pouring into the community grant pot, with new money coming from a 15-per-cent share of annual casino revenues.
However, because the guidelines for non-profits to receive such money have not changed, much of the extra funds will, instead, be diverted to a new reserve account, totalling $548,669.
It is expected that city staff will soon table a recommendation as to what to do with the excess funds.
“We have to wait and see what staff recommend. This may include some new projects and initiatives,” said Au, who has repeatedly questioned the city’s apparent proclivity to create reserve accounts for various items that he contends aren’t detailed in major financial reports.
“Yes, I think the city has too many reserve accounts and it is very confusing to the public… While I agree that we have to save for the rainy days, the City has been too conservative in its financial management,” added Au, in an email to the Richmond News.
In a report to council, staff noted the city supports the grant recipients but “is not a primary funder,” as that duty falls on the federal and provincial governments.
This year, council approved about $837,000 in grants that went to community events, childcare groups, arts and culture initiatives and social non-profit organizations. The increase over 2015 is about two per cent, in line with the cost of living increase.
About $304,000 was left off the table, as groups applied for more than what was allocated.
Reasons given for not fulfilling all of the applications ranged from lack of partnerships, duplication of services provided by the city and other funding partners having not been sought.
Richmond Addiction Services accounted for the largest grant, receiving $209,068.
Last year, the Richmond Women’s Resource Centre made a plea to council for more funding. This year, it once again asked for $55,000 but received $20,000—a $4,200 increase from 2015, a year in which the centre was forced to close during the summer.
The staff report noted the centre’s request “cannot be accommodated in the Health and Safety Grant Budget without reducing funding to other worthwhile programs.”
Au suggested new guidelines for funding could be coming.
“I would like to see what staff will recommend (including a new set of guidelines) for the rest of the money we still have. Personally, I still want to help smaller agencies which do not have a whole lot of resources to raise funds. The homeless shelter at St. Albans Church is another project I would like to help,” said Au.
Councillors have repeatedly stated the duty to fund such groups rests largely with the provincial government and fully supporting their requests can be a slippery slope.
Such an argument was recently implied, last week, when Chimo Community Services asked the general purposes committee for $17,000 to fund a staff member for its Vacant House Project.
The request was denied, with committee chair Mayor Malcolm Brodie noting the provincial government has downloaded too many costs onto the city.
