Galesburg aldermen approved 19 non-profits for funding Monday night in their annual round of external agency funding.
The gallery was uncharacteristically packed, largely with representatives of various agencies that were looking for money.
The council was divided along familiar fault lines over whether to exceed the $102,000 administration recommended or not.
Aldermen Jeremy Karlin, Peter Schwartzman, and Corrin Anderson were in favor of an amendment to grant $7,000 to Bridgeway for a recovery celebration event and $1,000 to Sugar High Theatricals.
The administration had recommended no funding for those groups because Sugar High doesn’t have non-profit status and they felt Bridgeway’s event was client focused.
Council Member Angela Bastian sees the groups in two categories, economic development and investing in citizens.
She would like to reassess how funding is determined.
“In terms of how much are we willing to invest, and what that is, and how we are giving money away. Because both are vital to our community.”
Russell Fleming said he’s philosophically opposed to funding these non-profits with taxpayer dollars, as important as the organizations may be.
“But if it came down to ‘push come to shove’ I would rather not give any funding to anybody than to keep this thing [from] snowballing,” Russell said to fellow aldermen. “Because [the] people that showed up tonight is not all the people that have a need out there.”
Alderman Schwartzman disagreed saying that for the millions we spend on infrastructure a few hundred thousands for non-profits is prudent.
But four aldermen voted against that amendment, seemingly out of a desire the funding from “snowballing” as Aldermen Fleming said.
Overall community events like the Great Galesburg Balloon Race and Heritage and service groups like KCCDD and Habit for Humanity received a piece of the $102,000.
(Data from City of Galesburg)
