Bid to Fund Program Defeated

A proposal to allocate $12,500 to help restore a program disbanded because of state budget cuts went down to defeat after Manhattan Beach council members deadlocked in a 2-2 vote Tuesday.

Councilman Steve Barnes had proposed that the council give the money to the South Bay Free Clinic so it could continue its Teen Advocate program at Mira Costa High School. The clinic shut down the program, which trained teens in several South Bay communities to counsel their peers on pregnancy prevention and other matters, on Aug. 4.

However, council members Pat Collins and Larry Dougharty expressed reservations about using city funds for the program. Dougharty said he was opposed to allocating such money to social service agencies.

Councilwoman Connie Sieber was absent. Barnes said he would talk to Sieber to determine whether she would support the funding proposal before deciding whether to reintroduce it.

The clinic shut down the program after Gov. George Deukmejian in July slashed the state family planning budget by two-thirds. Overall, the clinic expects to lose as much as $350,000 in family-planning and matching grant money as a result of the cuts, according to Craig A. Vincent-Jones, the clinic’s development officer.