LEWISTON — Councilors split Tuesday night over how to best divide up the dwindling federal block grants the city gets.
Councilors reviewed the proposed spending plan for Lewiston’s Community Development Block grant program that provide money to several agencies, including Sexual Assault Crisis Center and a Catholic Charities drug treatment program.
“I’m appalled that the sexual assault crisis center is not funded and yet we have money for Lewiston adult education programs,” Mayor Robert Macdonald said. “Look, we fund schools for these people for 13 years. If they don’t want to pay attention and use what we provide, why should we continue paying for them? It’s another example of a handout.”
Block grants are federal money, allocated by the Department of Housing and Urban Development to help the city’s poorest areas and residents. The money can be spent on capital projects, used to create housing loans and grants and given to agencies that help Lewiston residents.
Lewiston’s block grant budget for the 2012-13 fiscal year is $760,314 — $187,644 less than the current year’s budget and $371,230 less than the budget two years ago.
“It means we are extremely tight this year, with a third of our budget gone over two years,” Lincoln Jeffers, Lewiston’s interim economic development director, said.
A $240,000 paving project on Walnut Street would get block grant funding, according to the budget proposed by the city’s Block Grant Advisory Committee.
But the committee made cuts in most other categories. Spending for purchasing and demolishing buildings was reduced from $100,000 this year to $96,819 next year. Loans to help residents rehabilitate their homes were cut from $80,928 this year to $37,500.
Spending for social service agencies was cut by $22,793, according to the proposed budget. Jeffers said that HUD also required the city to move money for a city social services staffer under that heading. It had been funded as part of community development administration previously.
The end result is that 11 agencies received funding out of 28 that were funded last year. Agencies that would be cut under that budget included Advocates for Children, the Sexual Assault Crisis Center, United Somali Women of Maine and Lewiston recreation department after-school programs, drop-in programs and summer camps.
City Councilor Mark Cayer said he objected to the way money was divided up among the groups. He asked that the committee continue working, and bring back a different budget.
“I’d like to see them come back with the money spread out more evenly for everyone, so that more agencies get something,” Cayer said. “I’d like the whole thing to be divided up thinner.”
Councilor John Butler recommended moving part of the money for the social services staffer back into the general fund, freeing up another $30,000 for the agencies.
Councilors are working department by department this month, reviewing a fiscal year 2012-13 spending plan that calls for a proposed $1.07 million increase in property tax collections. So far, they’ve discussed budgets for public works and buildings, parking and the water, stormwater and sewer utilities.
On Tuesday night, they also reviewed proposed budgets for the Lewiston Public Library and police.
Councilors are scheduled to wrap up budget discussions by May 1. They have until May 31 to adopt the budget for July 2012 through June 2013, according to the City Charter.
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