Council distributes $110k to nonprofits

Following a terse discussion about Sonoma’s ongoing funding of local service agencies, Sonoma’s City Council split an estimated $110,000 budget surplus among nonprofits serving youth, seniors and the environment.
Councilmembers voted 3-2 to give $59,400 to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Sonoma Valley, $30,800 to the Vintage House Senior Center and $19,800 to the Sonoma Ecology Center. Tendering “no” votes were Councilmembers August Sebastiani, who generally opposes such government funding, and Ken Brown, who wanted to bring more groups to the table before disbursing any money.
The action overlapped three separate but related Oct. 1 agenda items – the year-end financial report, nonprofit funding in general, and a one-year $74,900 service agreement with the Boys & Girls Clubs in particular.
In the first item, Finance Director Carol Giovanatto told the council that the city’s General Fund – “bread and butter” money which pays for most city services – is in good shape at mid-term, with revenues exceeding expenditures by $110,172. However, Giovanatto cautioned that the city could find itself scrambling should the California legislature make good its recent budget-balancing threat to take away local redevelopment funds.
“If we take a hit this year, we could weather a one-year hit,” Giovanatto said, adding that future years could be problematic.
The second item, brought by Councilmembers Stanley Cohen and Steve Barbose, attempted to establish new criteria by which the city would regularly distribute nonprofit funding. Currently, Sonoma is in the middle of a two-year budget cycle, which last year saw a total of $100,300 granted to 18 different organizations. After some discussion over priorities – should the city first decide whether, or how, to give? – Sanders took a straw vote that showed Brown, Barbose and Cohen in favor of using the surplus $100,000 as a one-time solution.
In other actions, the council:
Voted 3-0 to support Measure P, the $35-million Sonoma Valley Hospital bond measure. Abstaining from the vote were Sebastiani and Mayor Joanne Sanders, both deeming it inappropriate for councilmembers to make political endorsements.
Approved a 5.52 percent rate increase for refuse collection with Sonoma Garbage Collectors, Inc. The increase is expected to total 34 cents a month for typical residential customers.
Voted 4-1, Cohen dissenting, to reappoint Michael George to a seat on the Sonoma Planning Commission.