Burbank public service groups get bump in funding
Burbank got an unexpected bump this year in federal grant funding to benefit local public service agencies, long reduced due to the sluggish economy, though the amount is still well below what the organizations had requested.
The Burbank City Council on Tuesday dispersed just more than $162,000 in Community Block Development Grant funds to 14 local agencies, including nonprofit organizations and the Burbank school district, which is a small boost from the $141,000 it doled out last year.
Even so, the funds are far less than the $334,522 the agencies had collectively requested for a host of services, like adult literacy programs, aid for the homeless, as well as dental, eye and ear care programs.
More than a dozen representatives of organizations competing for a share of the pot showed up to City Hall to explain how they serve the community.
“You prove your worthiness to us every day of the year, not just coming tonight to speak up on behalf of your organizations,” Mayor Emily Gabel-Luddy said to speakers Tuesday.
Among the agencies that snagged a portion of the funds were the Burbank Temporary Aid Center, which was allocated $45,067 out of the $94,500 it requested for homeless and low-income services, and the Family Service Agency, which was awarded $23,344 of the $65,000 it requested for its housing program for victims of domestic violence.
Roughly $7,000 was set aside for Family Promise, the local nonprofit that provides food, shelter and aid to homeless families that announced this month it will be suspending operations due to a shortfall in funds. Services will start up again after the agency secures $90,000 in donations, organizers said.
“It does, within reason, give everybody some money,” Councilman David Gordon said of the allocations.
The council also dispersed $702,481 in capital funds, including the full $200,000 requested by the Boys and Girls Club to upgrade the bungalows used for after-school and summer programs.
The city’s public works department got the remaining capital funds — just more than $500,000 — for the reconstruction of several streets, including Providencia Avenue between San Fernando and Glenoaks boulevards, South Sixth Street between Tujunga and Santa Anita avenues, and Delaware Road between East Avenue and Sixth Street, according to a city report.
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Follow Alene Tchekmedyian on Google+ and on Twitter: @atchek.
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