No resolution on 2016 contracts

The new competitive social services contracts funding process through the city’s Health and Human Services Department is still proving contentious. (See Austin Monitor, Sept. 17.) There is a little over $16 million budgeted for the 2016 fiscal year to provide for what was originally $30 million in funding requests from various organizations, including Meals on Wheels, Communities in Schools and Caritas of Austin. At Tuesday’s Public Health and Human Services committee meeting, City Council Members Mike Martinez and Laura Morrison amended the numbers yet again, bringing the total in allocated funds from last meeting’s $19 million to a little under $13 million. (See Austin Monitor, Oct. 14.)  The committee, which also includes Council Member Chris Riley, passed the contracts on first reading, with the notion that there is more work to be done before it recommends the contract budget to Council. Morrison still wants to adjust a few more figures, especially concerning the Theater Action Project and the Austin Independent School District’s Primetime after-school program. The committee will call a special meeting to further discuss funding for the contracts next week, but has not yet set a date. The amended suggested dollar amounts for each contract will be posted before the meeting for public viewing.