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Politics

City officials rethink cutback

Severe cuts are still coming, but some groups may be spared.

By AARON SHAROCKMAN
Published July 11, 2007

ST. PETERSBURG - Mayor Rick Baker and the City Council agreed Tuesday to restore minimal funding for city arts and social service groups, but cautioned that cuts to most agencies would still be severe.

The city said it would provide $500,000 to outside agencies and events next year - 80 percent less than the $2.77-million the city currently provides.

Officials have not decided who will get the money or how it will be divided. They also do not know where the money will come from.

But they can expect a rush of groups hoping their programs can now be spared.

At a budget workshop Tuesday, Baker and council members discussed a variety of potential revenue sources or further cost savings, but fell short of resolution.

Up to $300,000 may be available because of revenue associated with the city's downtown redevelopment district, Baker said. Another $70,000 could come from the city having to pay less to provide fire service to Tierra Verde because the county may pay those costs. But those numbers could change, and other costs could still increase, Baker said.

City officials said the cuts to the outside agencies, which include more than 200 organizations from homeless shelters to First Night and the Florida Orchestra, were necessitated by nearly $14-million in state-mandated budget cuts.

In Tampa, Mayor Pam Iorio proposed on Tuesday to cut about 14 percent, or $467,000, in funding for Tampa not-for-profit groups.

St. Petersburg City Council member Leslie Curran fought to restore at least some of the funding here.

"Just because we're in a budget crunch, I don't want to go backwards with a lot of the progress we made," she said. "Some of these services, the city cannot provide."

The proposal to eliminate the subsidies has been controversial since the mayor first suggested it June 22. Agencies said the cuts would doom some groups while drastically reducing programs at others.

The city money often is used as leverage toward state and federal aid. The letters of opposition poured into City Hall.

The president of the Pinellas County Coalition for the Homeless, Jackie Griffin-Doherty, said Tuesday that cuts in social service funding could cost the city 120 spaces in city homeless shelters.

"If we thought we had a homeless problem last year, we're really going to have one if we don't keep up with the accomplishments we made," council member Jamie Bennett said.

In other budget talk:

• The council heard a presentation about the possibility of closing the city's port - from an administrator who oversees the port.
   
  He suggested it remain open.
   
  Joe Zeoli, the managing director of the city's development administration, said that even though the city could save $315,000 next year shutting the port down, it may have to repay grants it has accumulated over time.
   
  "We have an awful lot of mays," council member Herb Polson said at the end of Zeoli's presentation. "You don't know, you just think it may."
   
  Officials also said some administrative costs would still have to be paid though the port would be closed.

• City officials proposed raising the fee for nonresidents to play in city recreational leagues by 25 percent. The extra fee would affect soccer and baseball leagues and most other recreational activities. Fees for nonresidents at Boyd Hill Nature Preserve may also increase for some programs.
   
  
• City Council member Bill Foster suggested selling advertising on the city's television station, but found little support. Polson also suggested cutting the city's membership to the Florida or national league of cities.

[Last modified July 11, 2007, 07:18:33]