With provincial cutbacks and groups losing gaming grant money, the city has been faced with increased requests for financial aid.
Community groups asked the city for $106,300 for 2011 – substantially more than last year.
City council had wanted to hold 2011 grants to the 2010 figure of $75,900.
But the request total topped that amount by $30,400 late last year after council added up submissions for money and services.
Councillors spent time debating issues, looking at various different options of dividing the money it wanted to spend and examining what could be cut from the list.
In the end, council concentrated on groups that fit under the city’s objectives and weren’t under the province’s jurisdiction. It decided to reject $24,000 worth of requests from community organizations looking for grants this year, but is still handing out about $6,000 more in grants compared to last year, with the final tentative number in grants coming to $82,550.
The city’s budget is finalized in the spring.
The Terrace Art Association is to receive $5,000 instead of the $10,000 it requested for its operating costs, while Terrace Search and Rescue will receive $9,000 instead of its requested $15,000 for rent and insurance.
Volunteer Terrace also did not get an increase it requested for its operating costs, and was given $4,500 instead of $6,500. The Terrace Downtown Improvement group, which wants to set up a system to improve the downtown, was also cut back in its one-time grant request from $5,000 to $1,000.
Muks-Kum-Ol Housing was looking for a one-time $6,750 grant that would be used for operational expenses like wages, travel, and supplies while the group searches for a way to end youth homelessness in the community.
Council considered putting $1,000 toward the organization with the view that other community partners would chip in, but decided in the end not to contribute any money, as most councillors didn’t think the city should be reaching into an area they feel is the responsibility of the province.
The elected officials also looked into the $25,500 the city spends on parades, events and festivals throughout the year; this is money for events like Riverboat Days and Christmas parades the city pays annually. While some councillors were opposed to that much spending, it was pointed out that volunteers do a lot of the necessary work to hold these events.
Council also needs to find another $6,000 in its fees for service, as it is putting $5,000 into the Terrace Museum Society for archiving purposes, and $1,000 to the library for snow removal.
Council has decided to take the extra $12,000 needed for the grants and fee for service from the city surplus.
The city is expecting to receive around $400,000 from local gaming centre Chances as its share of slot machine revenue.
There’s no specific fund or bank account for the slot machine revenue and it instead goes directly into the city’s general revenue.
Mayor Dave Pernarowski acknowledges that the slot machine revenue is a lot of money that has been quickly absorbed into the general revenue stream.
“It never really was set as a policy that the amount or that a certain percentage would be earmarked each year,” he said of the slot machine money. “We can certainly do that in the future.”
Pernarowski said he’s looking forward to getting a community foundation set up, which would then be able to help out with community grant requests.
