COLUMBIA — The city of Columbia doles out more than $800,000 per year to social services agencies, but it’s difficult to know whether that money is going where it’s needed most.
That’s why city officials are exploring whether there’s a better way to make decisions about how to distribute the money. City Manager Bill Watkins has asked Steve Hollis, manager of community services, to take on the task of tuning up the process. Although the idea is in its infancy, both Watkins and Hollis share an overall goal.
“We want to make sure we’re getting the biggest bang for our buck,” Watkins said.
For fiscal 2008, which began Oct. 1, the city doled out $886,023 to 44 different social service programs. Unlike in many similar cities, much of Columbia’s social services money comes from general revenue rather than federal Community Development Block Grants. The city also works in cooperation with Boone County and United Way to fund dozens of programs.
Yet given the demands on the city budget and growing community needs, the time has come to reassess the system for distributing public money.
“The community is growing, but resources aren’t necessarily growing,” Hollis said.
Currently, agencies seeking money submit proposals to the Community Services Advisory Commission, which reviews the proposals, holds public hearings and makes recommendations to the City Council and the Boone County Commission about how to spend the money. The county in 2008 is spending $109,550 on social services.
Hollis said that if he recommends any changes in that process, they probably would involve closer cooperation between the council and the advisory commission. He’s also exploring whether the city could use data to better identify needs in the community and to create priorities for the advisory commission.
“We want to get to a place where we have better local data to help drive funding decisions,” Hollis said.
The advisory commission already uses some data, including surveys from American Communities Data, to help discern where needs lie.
Several members of the advisory commission said they look forward to being able to better use available money.
“We’re trying our best to get the funds where they are needed most,” commission chairman Reginald Kinsey said.
“Our priorities in the community are constantly changing,” commissioner Becky Wagner said. “We need to change our priorities along with the needs of the community.”
Although it’s unclear whether any changes will be made, some funded groups also echoed those sentiments. Leigh Voltmer is executive director of Comprehensive Human Services, which received $67,408 this year for three different programs, including The Shelter, a place for victims of domestic violence. Voltmer said a city move toward the use of more data would be a good thing.
Both she and Georgalu Swoboda, executive director of Big Brothers/Big Sisters, said they already use data to evaluate need.
“By using data evaluation we will have proof of our positive outcomes,” Swoboda said.
Hollis and Watkins emphasized that no immediate changes in social services funding policy are in the works. Hollis plans to discuss the matter with the council on March 3.