Sammamish may freeze human services spending
May 5, 2010
By J.B. Wogan
New: May 5, 11:15 a.m.
After a decade of increasing its human services spending, the city may freeze the funding for the next two years, according to the mayor.
“There’s certainly a need for human services. There’s also a need to balance the budget,” Mayor Don Gerend said.
Sammamish funds human services through grants to nonprofits that support the young, the elderly and people in need of emergency or transitional housing.
Gerend is anticipating that the council will buck its traditional expansion of the grant program every few years, but maintain funding at the current 2010 levels.*
It’s become a recurring story in this economy — as the need for these services grows, government’s ability to fund them diminishes.
“We’re seeing an increase, because of the economy, in family violence and in bullying,” said Patti Skelton-McGougan, executive director of Youth Eastside Services. The group received $10,000 in 2010, and says it could use more.
Sammamish is one of four cities to give grant funding to Youth Eastside Services.
It gives less than the cities of Kirkland, Redmond and Bellevue, although Sammamish also has a smaller population.
Hopelink, a nonprofit that offers a wide array of services to low-income families, could also use more funding, according to Denise Stephens, a spokeswoman for the organization. Sammamish gave Hopelink $11,050 in 2010, split between emergency and family services programs.
“I think all the cities know without us saying anything,” Stephens said. “They understand that when the economy goes south, what’s needed is as much funding as possible for human services.”
The city of Sammamish’s grant program began in 2001 with $20,000 allotted for two youth counseling organizations.
Since then, it’s seen a nearly eightfold increase.
In 2010, the city doled out $158,665 to 30 organizations — slightly more than 0.2 percent of the city’s $72.6 million budget.
A report from City Clerk Melonie Anderson showed that the council used more than half of its grant funding in 2009 and 2010 for nonprofits that provide a youth-related service.
The council spent $80,555 per year on organizations such as Skyline High School, the Lake Washington Schools Foundation, Issaquah’s Friends of Youth and Redmond’s Youth Eastside Services.
The city spent $20,000 on Faith in Action and Elder and Adult Day Services, both of which benefit the region’s elder population.
It spent $21,050 on nonprofits that provide emergency shelter, housing and other support services for homeless, impoverished or “needy” individuals.
The other $37,060 goes to a variety of organizations that help with medical and dental care, support for victims of sexual abuse and domestic violence, and employment for individuals with disabilities.
Beneficiaries of the grant funding must have a certificate of insurance, be 501 (c) 3 nonprofits and have to agree to make quarterly reports about their work.
After Anderson and City Manager Ben Yazici review the applications, they present a recommendation for funding to an ad hoc human services committee.
In past years, the committee has been the mayor and deputy major, though Gerend said he wasn’t sure if he and Deputy Mayor Nancy Whitten would be on the human services committee this time.
Whoever is on the committee will end up making a recommendation to the council.
While Gerend predicts a funding freeze, the full council may opt to do otherwise when budget talks start in November.
Who got what in 2010?
Organization Funding
Athletes for Kids $10,000
Child Care Resources $10,000
Eastside Domestic Violence Program $10,000
Elder and Adult Day Services $10,000
Faith In Action $10,000
Friends of Youth (Family Services) $10,000
Kindering Center $10,000
Youth Eastside Services $10,000
Encompass $6,800
Community Health of K.C. (Medical) $6,500
Hopelink (Emergency Services) $6,050
Eastside Baby Corner $6,000
Assistance League of the Eastside $5,000
Hopelink (Avondale Park) $5,000
NAMI Eastside $5,000
St. Vincent DePaul $5,000
Community Health of K.C. ( Dental) $4,000
Friends of Youth (Healthy Start) $3,680
Eastside Interfaith Social Concerns Council (housing) $3,000
Lake Washington Schools Foundation $3,000
King County Sexual Assault Resource Center $2,730
Children’s Response Center – Harborview $2,575
Hopelink (Family Development Program) $2,500
AtWork! $2,310
Eastside Legal Assistance Program $2,020
Eastside Interfaith Social Concerns Council (Shelter) $2,000
Issaquah Church and Community Services $2,000
HERO House $1,500
Friends of Issaquah Salmon Hatchery $1,000
Skyline High School $1,000
Reporter J.B. Wogan can be reached at 392-6434, ext. 247, or jbwogan@isspress.com.
*This story clarifies the the phrase “freeze the funding” describes a possible policy decision to maintain funding at the current 2010 levels, rather than expand the grant program by another increment, as the City Council did in previous budget cycles.
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