Lakewood funding choices rile some

The Lakewood City Council doled out $389,000 to more than 25 social service programs Monday night, but the vote was marred by controversy over who got the money because one agency didn’t go through the usual screening process.

In a 6-1 vote, city leaders decided to dedicate more than $50,000 out of the 2009 budget to an early learning program administered by the United Way.

The co-chairman of the city’s human services citizen advisory board, which recommends who gets the money, was visibly upset with the vote. So was one City Council member.

Darrel Shiley, the advisory board co-chairman, was disappointed the United Way didn’t have to follow the application and vetting process that other organizations did. The annual process began during the summer, he said.

The United Way allocation also meant the City Council rejected $50,000 in recommendations from the citizens board, including money for Pierce County Juvenile Court’s bookmobile, Centro Latino’s student support and family outreach program, and the Pierce County AIDS Foundation’s Oasis Youth Center.

Councilwoman Helen McGovern said she opposes taking money from services that help some of Lakewood’s most vulnerable residents. “I can’t believe we’re doing this. It is so unfair,” she told her colleagues. “We are going to close doors on these places.”

But other council members said they wanted to fund programs that address the most basic human needs – food and shelter.

Councilman Don Anderson said the United Way’s early learning program helps Lakewood’s most valuable resource: its children.

Lakewood dedicates 1 percent of its annual operating budget to human services, although the sluggish economy prompted city leaders to reconsider it this year.

They ended up fully funding the 1 percent. Organizations that got money include the Boys & Girls Clubs of South Puget Sound, Community Health Care and the Emergency Food Network.

Mayor Doug Richardson said Tuesday that it’s not uncommon for the council to choose a project from the 1 percent set aside without the advisory board’s blessing.

“The bottom line is, we were still able to do 1 percent for our citizens,” he said.

Shiley questioned whether the city was trying to exert influence in Clover Park School District business.

He said the advisory board would have been willing to consider United Way’s program as a recipient. But it needed to go through the proper process, he said, and worthy programs the board determined should have gotten money now won’t receive any.

Shiley sent a clear signal of his frustration to City Council members who argued against the board’s recommendation. He sat sideways in his chair during Monday’s discussion and refused to make eye contact.

“There was nothing left for me to do other than that,” he explained later.

Brent Champaco: 253-597-8653