City gives group $200,000 for low-income job training
September 16, 2009
A divided City Council on Tuesday gave $200,000 to a local nonprofit to help train hundreds of low-income residents for jobs in health care, education and technology -- all areas of high need in El Paso.
Written by Gustavo Reveles , The El Paso Times
EL PASO -- A divided City Council on Tuesday gave $200,000 to a local nonprofit to help train hundreds of low-income residents for jobs in health care, education and technology -- all areas of high need in El Paso. The council even made concessions about how much money out of the $200,000 Project ARRIBA could use for administrative purposes. During the summer, the council had agreed to give Project ARRIBA the money but force the organization to use all of it in training and other services. Tuesday, the council voted 4-3 to not only award the grant but to allow the organization to spend up to 20 percent of it for administration costs -- including salaries. "I don't care if it's national standards or not to have 20 percent in administrative costs, that's just too much," city Rep. Carl Robinson said. "The monies should go toward services, not administration." Voting with Robinson against the motion were Ra chel Quintana and Eddie Holguin, a strong critic of Project ARRIBA's need for money from governmental entities like the city and the county. City Reps. Susie Byrd, Emma Acosta, Steve Ortega and Beto O'Rourke said some administrative costs should be allowed because the city expects quarterly reports to be turned in to the council on the progress of the program. "It's important to provide some administration so that the program can deliver on the promises that have been made," said Roman Ortiz, Project ARRIBA executive director. "We have, historically, been under 20 percent in administrative costs and we don't anticipate that to change." The council did ask Roman to secure funds from other sources and chastised him for refusing to apply for federal funds earlier this year. "We do ask that you go after that money ... that you be more aggressive," Acosta said. The city has been reducing funding for Project ARRIBA. Last year, the council gave the group $275,000. Other city-operated funding sources gave Project ARRIBA $125,000 this year, although those funds didn't come out of the general fund like the $200,000 approved by the council Tuesday. Project ARRIBA has an annual budget of $1.4 million and serves about 450 people each year.
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