Pinellas County pays for seven nonprofit grants from reserves for one more year after commissioners weighed ending the program
The county's Social Action Funding shrinks from $1.7 million to $667,403 in the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1. Commissioners approved the seven agreements on Sept. 24; the county administrator had offered the one-time money as a year's notice before the funding is discontinued.
Clearwater. Seven nonprofit programs in Pinellas County, Fla., will keep their county Social Action Funding grants for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1, paid from one-time reserves after two commissioners argued the county should stop funding the program.
The Board of County Commissioners voted 7 to 0 on Sept. 24 to approve the agreements, worth $667,403 in all. They go to Abilities Inc. of Florida, for services to veterans; Boley Centers, for outreach to chronically homeless people; Family Resources, for homeless and runaway youth; Preserve Vision Florida, for eye care for seniors; Seniors in Service of Tampa Bay, for senior companions; the Shirley Proctor Puller Foundation, for an after-school program in south St. Petersburg; and the St. Petersburg Free Clinic, for its food pantries. Each agreement can end if the money does not become available.
Ten recommended projects left out
In May the county's Social Action Funding Advisory Board recommended 17 projects worth $1.71 million, from 59 applications seeking $5.3 million. In his proposed budget, County Administrator Barry Burton cut the program to $667,000, enough for programs funded in fiscal 2026 and none new, among lower-priority programs he said the county had to reduce to preserve its most essential services.
At the first public budget hearing on Sept. 10, Commissioner Brian Scott called the grants a discretionary expense and suggested ending them to lower the tax rate further, the minutes show. Commissioner Chris Latvala, who had raised the idea at a Sept. 3 work session, the St Pete Catalyst reported, agreed, and Commissioner René Flowers pushed back, according to Florida Politics.
Mr. Burton then suggested that if the board wanted to give the programs a year's notice before the funding is discontinued, the $667,000 could be paid once from reserves and the tax rate lowered by the same amount. The board adopted the change unanimously and kept it in the final budget on Sept. 24.
“A lot of the nonprofits do very good work, but a lot of them can get funding from the state or private fundraising. Property taxes shouldn't have to do it.”
What comes next
Mr. Latvala told the Catalyst that he wants the county out of the business of funding nonprofits through the grant program. That would not necessarily end contracts with nonprofits hired to provide county services, the Catalyst noted. On Sept. 10, Mr. Scott asked for a future work session to decide which populations the county should serve and to find overlap among the county, other taxing authorities and nonprofits.
The county's release on the adopted budget also lists more than $1 million in Human Services cuts or shifts to other funding, including programs for homelessness and services for sexual assault victims.
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