County ending grant process for local organizations

“Getting the biggest bang for our buck”

In 2011, the Gunnison County Commissioners allocated $150,000 for funding to community-based organizations (CBOs)—everything from the local chambers of commerce to social service groups. Traditionally, much of the money allocated to CBOs has been given through a granting process. But at a work session on June 28, the commissioners opted to head in a direction that would forgo the granting process for the 2012 budget.

“A lot of organizations [that receive grants] are community-based organizations that ought to find support in the community,” said commissioner Phil Chamberland. “If they don’t find support in the community, then they’re coming here for money—which is basically community money. I’m not sure how appropriate that is.”
“We’re sitting here listening to Marlene Crosby [public works director] tell us how hard it is to [repair roads under a tight budget], and we’re all getting calls about roads washing out. And here we are giving money away to organizations that are community-based and should go out and get community support,” he continued.
Crosby informed the commissioners that the cost of materials for road maintenance has doubled and in some cases tripled, but road budgets have remained the same. On top of that, special events place additional constraints on road maintenance.
“I’m a big fan of bringing Ride the Rockies to town,” Crosby said, “but if it had not been for Ride the Rockies, I would have pulled off of Cottonwood for a couple of weeks [instead of clearing it when we did]. Normally it takes $15,000 to $17,000 to clear, but this year it cost $37,000.”
Commissioner Hap Channell raised concerns about organizations that have service contracts with the county and receive CBO grants.
“That’s double-dipping,” he said.
The details of how money will be allocated in the absence of a granting process were left to a future work session, but discussion focused on transferring some of the money to the discretionary fund where it could still be available for special requests. The commissioners also emphasized the need to continue funding groups that provide contracted services, like the chambers of commerce. They might also consider giving some portion of the funds to a community foundation to be allocated on their behalf, under guidelines the commissioners set.
“We’re streamlining efforts to get the biggest bang for our buck,” said commissioner Paula Swenson.
The discussion will continue at a July work session.