Brevard County Commission approves grants to 10 nonprofits, but cuts most recommendations

Ten nonprofit organizations will split about $252,000 in county tax money in the current budget year, after Brevard County commissioners unanimously voted to reduce an advisory board's recommendations.

The County Commission decided Tuesday to give seven of those 10 organizations the same amount they received last year, rather than giving them more county money than they received last year. The other three organizations received the amounts that were recommended by the advisory Brevard County Community Action Board, since those organizations received no grants last year.

The approved allocations — through what's known as the community-based organization program — reduced the total going to the 10 organizations by a total of $53,706. The change was proposed by Brevard County Commissioner John Tobia.

"None of the projects that are currently on this list would see a drop in funding from last year's level," Tobia emphasized.

County Commissioner Curt Smith said Tobia's proposal is "a real thinking-outside-the-box idea — and I like it."

Tobia contends that, since the community-based organization program is being phased out over a five-year period, it makes little sense to give individual organizations more money than they received last year. 

More:Brevard County Commission limits taxpayer funding of nonprofit organizations

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The $53,706 that the county saved will be transferred to a separate budget line that would go toward the Meals on Wheels program, which previously was approved to receive $60,000 in county money in the current budget year that began Oct. 1.

Meals on Wheels still will receive its $60,000, but $53,706 of that will come from the community-based organization pool of money in the county's general fund. The other $6,294 for Meals on Wheels will come from elsewhere in the general fund budget of the Brevard County Housing and Human Services Department.

Under Tobia's plan, the county will have a net savings of $53,706 in its general fund that could be used for other purposes.

He said after the meeting that "we have to look at every darn $53,000" in the county budget for potential savings. That's because a proposed expansion of homestead exemptions on property taxes that is on the November election ballot, if approved, would significantly reduce county revenue from property taxes, beginning in 2019-20.

As part of the five-year phaseout of the community-based organization program, recipients of grants were due to receive a total of $306,120 in the current 2018-19 budget year; $204,080 in 2019-20; and $102,040 in 2020-21. The program would end after that, under a plan previously approved by the County Commission.

But County Commission Vice Chair Kristine Isnardi said that's not set in stone.

"We all make decisions come budget time," Isnardi said.

These are the 10 organizations that received funding under the program for 2018-19. The recommended funding amounted to 80 percent of what the programs requested. The actual funding for seven of them was based on what the organizations received last year:

• AMI Kids of the Space Coast for health service program: $20,637 (same as recommended by the Community Action Board).

• Brevard Alzheimer's Foundation lnc. for Joe's Club Adult Day Care: $42,000 (down from $56,000 recommended).

• Central Brevard Sharing Center for emergency food: $28,000 (down from $32,000 recommended).

• Family Promise of Brevard for emergency family shelter: $5,274 (down from $28,000 recommended).

• Grandparents Raising Grandchildren for Child First Program of support service for grandparents: $35,428 (down from $37,008 recommended).

• Habitat for Humanity for veterans repairs for affordable housing: $20,637 (same as recommended).

• Salvation Army North Brevard for soup kitchen: $16,800 (down from $19,200 recommended).

• Salvation Army North/Central Brevard for domestic violence victims' services shelter: $10,500 (down from $12,000 recommended).

• South Brevard Women's Center for domestic violence victims' services: $52,500 (down from $60,000 recommended).

• Space Coast Early Intervention Center for Project Behavioral Health: $20,637 (same as recommended).

In May, the County Commission voted to restrict community-based organization
grants to programs that provide "basic needs" like food, shelter and health care. 

Previously, there was no such restriction.

In 2017-18, 19 nonprofit programs requested community-based organization grants, and 13 received grants.

The Community Action Board made its recommendations in September, after scoring the 10 organizations' proposals.

The board includes public officials or their representatives; persons democratically chosen to represent the low-income population in the areas served; and officials or members of business, labor, community advisory boards, veterans' groups,
religious/faith-based alliances or affordable housing groups.

During County Commission debate on Tuesday, Isnardi said she has not been a fan of the community-based organization program, because "you're picking winners and losers of a charity soup bowl of people that need funding — all worthy cause, of course."

But she and other commissioners were fans of the Meals on Wheels program, geared to older people who have difficulty leaving their homes.

Commissioner Jim Barfield said the county benefits from Meals on Wheels because the $60,000 in the county grant helps generate about $1 million for the program from other sources through matching grant programs. It also helps avoid having more county residents going to nursing homes.

"These are our parents. These are our grandparents," Isnardi said. "I'll never be OK with cutting Meals on Wheels. And it's not because I'm admittedly partial to old people. It's because I think that it's fiscally a smart thing to do. And I think it's morally and ethically the right thing to do."

Dave Berman is government editor at FLORIDA TODAY.

Contact Berman at 321-242-3649

or dberman@floridatoday.com.

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