Council cuts community service requests in proposed budget
SALEM – Over pizza and diet soft drinks, members of Salem City Council whittled away at the proposed 2010-2011 budget Monday night, and tentatively cut more than $100,000 out of community service requests.
Nothing is written in stone – yet – as far as human service and community service agency requests are concerned. Council will not take an official vote on next year’s budget until after the scheduled public hearing on May 25.
At the end of Monday night’s regular meeting before the budget workshop, Council approved the $42-million Salem School Board budget for the 2010-2011 school year. School Board Chairman Sally Southard presented the schools’ request at the April 26 council meeting. Like other Salem City employees, teachers and other school employees will not get a raise for the second year in a row. Under Virginia law, school budgets must be approved by mid-May, before council’s next regular meeting.
The budget workshop lasted more than three hours, ending at 11 p.m. Council members started off with requests from 52 charities and community service agencies that had received some City of Salem funding last year or previous years.
Council members’ stated goal was to cut at least 5 percent out of the current year’s appropriations to human and community service agencies.
That was in line with the directive by City Manager Kevin Boggess to all City of Salem departments, to prepare budget requests for next fiscal year that are 5 percent less than the current year.
According to their remarks about individual items, council members were swayed in making their decisions by whether or not an agency’s programs directly benefit Salem children and/or families, if the program seems to be a duplication of what another agency provides and how much direct benefit the City of Salem derives.
The largest disparity between what a non-profit organization asked for and what it probably will get from the City of Salem was Center in the Square’s annual campaign: the request was for $173,780; council penciled in $17,500, $2,500 below last year’s appropriation.
Agencies council members agreed to cut out entirely were Blue Ridge Legal Services, Camp Virginia Jaycees, Opera Roanoke, Southwest Virginia Ballet and the Tri-Co Lake Administrative Committee.
Another large cut was to Goodwill Industries. Council members also agreed to reduce the allocation by $5,000; last year Goodwill received $15,000 and requested $26,000 for next year.
Council Member Lisa Garst said, “Goodwill Industries know how to operate as a business, and are very successful.” Mayor Randy Foley agreed, saying, “I’m with you on that.”
A few agencies received more money, saved from other cuts. Council members agreed to give $21,000 instead of last year’s $20,412 to the Headstart preschool program for underprivileged kids that is operated by Total Action against Poverty in the old Salem train station off Colorado Street.
