Council funds “tier-two” non-profits

It took an hour and forty minutes for the Sonoma City Council to distribute $100,300 in a special meeting last week to the local “tier-two” non-profit organizations. This brings to $240,000 the total distributions from the 2008 city budget, having previously distributed $139,700 to three “tier-one” organizations. There were 22 tier-two organizations that had requested $250,198 in funding, at amounts from $1,100 to $40,000, and 17 of those groups received some portion of what they requested.
Council members Ken Brown and Steve Barbose were ready to spend the full amount available, while council member Joanne Sanders was concerned about the city spending any money for philanthropic purposes; if money were allocated, she wanted it to go to groups operating with the city limits. Council member August Sebastiani was ready to consider leaving the money in the city’s general fund, or even suggested, “I say we send the money back to the taxpayers at 73¢ per parcel.”
But once started, Sebastiani seemed to enjoy the process as much as anyone on the council. He voted for the full amount requested by four of the organizations, even requesting the evening’s largest single amount of $11,550 for the Sonoma Valley Youth Soccer Association; the other council members went only as high as $5,000 for soccer scholarships.
Friends in Sonoma Helping (FISH), Valley of the Moon Teen Center, Pets Lifeline, the Sonoma Valley Film Society, and Meals on Wheels all received the largest blocks of funding at $10,000 each, these five together accounting for half the total amount awarded, while other applicants received nothing: Sonoma Classical Music Society, Sonoma City Opera, Vineyard Workers Services, Lyon Ranch Therapy Animals and the Sonoma Valley Arts Alliance (Salute to the Arts).
Hoping there will be funding available in future years, Mayor Cohen ended the evening by saying, “We can’t make everyone happy – this has been emotional and difficult and we did our best.”
In an interview after the meeting, Sebastiani told The Sun that while he supports the non-profits from his personal checkbook, he agrees with council member Sanders that the city shouldn’t be distributing funds for philanthropic purposes. “I was going to stand hard and fast on my withholding position,” Sebastiani said, “but the council was moving forward and this is part of the job I was elected to do.”