Seminole County has put its yearly funding recommendations for local nonprofits on hold until after the Nov. 3 election, telling 24 agencies that county officials want to see how voters decide Amendment 3 before committing money, Spectrum News 13 reported Thursday.
The county notified the groups in a letter dated Sept. 17. According to the report, those recommendations normally go to the Board of County Commissioners at the start of the fiscal year.
"We're preparing for any potential financial impacts as a result of the Amendment 3 vote on November 3rd," county communications director Chris Patton told the station. He said management did not want the county locked into financial decisions before the outcome was known.
Patton said passage would mean a 20% reduction in the county's property tax revenue and would force commissioners to consider funding cuts for some organizations. No final funding decisions have been made, and the grants remain subject to commission review after the election.
A shelter's share
One of the agencies waiting is Rescue Outreach Mission, which its president and CEO, Chris Ham, described as the only homeless shelter in Seminole County. Ham said the shelter receives about $250,000 from the county, about 20% of its budget, and also relies on corporate partners, individual donors and faith communities.
Ham said the shelter averaged about 70 guests a night when he started almost five years ago and now serves 110 or more. If county money is cut, he said, the shelter may have to rethink its daytime services, which include meals, laundry, a computer lab and case management, and could end up asking guests to leave each morning and return at night.
