BREA : City OKs Funds to Hire Lobbying Firm
The City Council last week agreed to spend $24,000 to hire a consulting firm to help the city secure federal funds for local projects.
“This is an investment,” Councilman Burnie Dunlap said.
But Councilwoman Kathryn E. Wiser disagreed, casting the lone vote against hiring the Ferguson Co., a decision that was approved by the council 4 to 1. Wiser said the city has employees who lobby for federal money as part of their job and called the hiring of an outside consultant to do the same work wasteful.
Wiser noted that Brea belongs to the California League of Cities, the California Assn. of Governments and other groups that act as advocates for the city.
“That’s why we have senators and associations,” she said. “They should be able to work for us.”
City Manager Frank Benest argued that while the city does have employees who write grant applications, it does not have a staff member in the nation’s capital to determine which funds are available and make personal contacts with heads of federal departments.
Ferguson Co. lobbyists, who will represent Brea in Washington, will make it easier to obtain those grants, he said.
The consulting firm will lobby for money to pay for transportation, community development and redevelopment projects, Benest said.
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