Burbank allocates Community Development Block Grant funding

Every group that submitted proposals for Community Development Block Grant funding for the upcoming 2018-19 fiscal year was allocated monies by the Burbank City Council Tuesday.

Council members unanimously voted to distribute roughly $1.2 million in federal funding to allow various local nonprofits and organizations as well as city departments to carry out projects and programs that strive to improve the community during a meeting on Tuesday.

Marcos Gonzalez, Burbank’s grant coordinator, said the city received a little more than $1 million from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for the 2018-19 fiscal year, which was an increase of about $139,000 compared to the year before.

The additional block-grant funding came from residential rehabilitation loan repayments and a reallocation of funds from last fiscal year’s entitlement.

Although the City Council approved issuing money to every request made this year, one agency — the Armenian Relief Society — was on the brink of not receiving a single penny.

The nonprofit requested $14,157 for its social services program, and Burbank’s Community Development Goals Committee recommended that the organization should receive $1,380 instead.

However, city staff suggested that the Armenian Relief Society not receive any money for the 2018-19 fiscal year because the organization did not participate in the committee-review process in March, according to a city staff report.

“[The Community Development Goals Committee was] a lot more forgiving than [city] staff,” City Manager Ron Davis said. “I’m not forgiving at all, and I’m terribly in favor of the Armenian Relief Society. I’m not in favor of rewarding bad behavior.”

Davis told council members they could go with the committee recommendation and give money to the nonprofit. However, he suggested each agency and organization that puts in a request for the grant funds needs to take part in the review process to get funding.

The City Council agreed with the city manager for future requests and unanimously voted to make it mandatory for groups making funding requests to participate in the committee-review process.

There were several other changes made to the funding distribution. The nonprofit Family Service Agency requested $45,000 for the 2018-19 fiscal year to fund CARE Cottages, its program that provides counseling services to victims of domestic abuse.

Laurie Bleick, executive director of the organization, told council members that her agency had gotten used to receiving about 10% of the funding it requests each year, but said that the committee’s recommendation of $14,987 for the upcoming fiscal year was a significant cut for the nonprofit.

Wanting to find additional funding for Family Service Agency, Councilman Tim Murphy suggested that nonprofit BCR “a place to grow” receive its requested amount of $11,568 for its transportation program instead of the committee’s recommendation of $13,302.

Councilman Jess Talamantes asked if cutting back the funding would hurt the nonprofit’s program, and Gonzalez said the group’s original request would fully cover the service provided.

The City Council agreed on a $1,734 reduction and reallocated the money to Family Service Agency’s program.

Murphy also took issue with a city-requested project, Burbank’s financial-assistance program for residents who are required to replace their wood-shake roofs.

Gonzalez said there are 20 homeowners who still have yet to replace their wood-shake roofs, which are said to be fire hazards, even though Burbank officials required homeowners to do so. The requested amount was $100,000, which Gonzalez said would be enough to assist four households.

The goals committee recommended the city not give any of the money, but city staff recommended allocating the full requested amount for the program.

Murphy said replacing wood-shake roofs has been an issue for decades, even as far back as when he was elected to City Council in 1989. He was recently appointed to fill a vacant council seat.

“These people have been on notice that they have a problem, and some of them have done very little,” he said.

The rest of the City Council members agreed with Murphy, and they decided to cut the funding for the project to $50,000. That money was divided, with $18,237 allocated to the Burbank YMCA for its ADA-accessible all-gender locker room project and $31,763 to the Boys & Girls Club of Burbank and Greater East Valley to rehabilitate two of its bungalows at Bret Harte Elementary School.

anthonyclark.carpio@latimes.com

Twitter: @acocarpio