Council rejects funding request from non-profit, homeless oversight committee
Cited financial conservatism as rationale 
At the May 5 Paso Robles City Council meeting, the council voted to not fund two requests from a non-profit organization and from the San Luis Obispo Homeless Services Oversight Council.
The council rejected a request from Score, which is a non-profit that offers free mentoring and business advice to small start-ups. They had requested a sponsorship in the amount of $2,500. The council rejected the request in a 3-2 vote, with Councilman Fred Strong and Mayor Steve Martin voting no. The reason the council gave for the rejection was an effort to maintain the city’s policy of financial conservatism.
Also in an effort to remain as conservative as possible with general funds, the council rejected a request from the SLO homeless services oversight council to provide $2,143 to help the efforts in a county-wide homeless count.
Many homeless services are paid for through special grants awarded by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development and administered by San luis Obispo County’s Department of Planning and Building; including the Emergency Solutions Grant and the Continuum of Care Grant. These two grants alone provide nearly $1.2 million In funding for homeless services annually. Every two years, as a condition of receiving homeless assistance funding from HUD, our community is required to conduct a visual count and survey of sheltered and unsheltered homeless persons in San luis Obispo County.
The funding request was being asked of all cities in the county as a shared proportion of the total $50,000 cost. The count was a pre-requisite for grant eligibility for the above mentioned grants. The council rejected this request 3-2, with Councilman Steve Gregory and Mayor Steve Martin voting no.
