Town Officials to Establish Criteria for Non-Profits to Receive Taxpayer Dollars

In this fiscal year, non-profits in Fairfield and the surrounding area are receiving $851,956 in taxpayers' money, but no policy exists for determining how they get on - and get off - a list to receive money through the annual town budget.

The Board of Finance on Tuesday night is scheduled to change that by establishing a committee that will include members from the three town boards that vote on annual town budgets. The finance board's meeting is at 7:30 p.m. in the Education Center, 501 Kings Highway East.

First Selectman Ken Flatto, who currently recommends how much money the non-profits receive, followed by review of the Board of Finance and Representative Town Meeting, said he hopes the committee will establish criteria by February.

"What's interesting is, even though in total it's a fairly large dollar amount, only two or three organizations get a large amount of money," Flatto said during Wednesday afternoon's Board of Selectmen's meeting in Sullivan-Independence Hall.

The three biggest recipients in the 2010-11 town budget are Pequot Library, a privately-owned library in the town's Southport neighborhood that is open to the public ($350,000); Fairfield Counseling Services on Penfield Road, which provides free mental health services to eligible residents in the Fairfield area ($175,000); and Grasmere by the Sea, an activity center on the Post Road by the Fairfield-Bridgeport border for senior citizens who are less mobile than those who go to the Fairfield Senior Center ($75,000.)

"If you take out those funds and funds required by state statute, the remaining money is $100,000 and 11 [non-profits] divvy that up. There's not large amounts being given to charity," Flatto said.

State-mandated regional services include Fairfield Veterans Advisory and Information Service, Greater Bridgeport Regional Planning Agency, Greater Bridgeport Transit District, Regional Youth and Adult Substance Abuse Program, The Discovery Museum, Southwestern Connecticut EMS Council, Southwest Regional Mental Health Board and Southwestern Regional Communications Center, all of which receive a total of $159,000, according to a document prepared by the town's Finance Department.

Board of Finance Chairman Tom Flynn said Friday that his board would establish the committee at its Tuesday meeting and that it would include Selectman Sherri Steeneck as a representative from the Board of Selectmen and a couple of finance board and RTM members.

Flynn said the list of non-profits that receive taxpayers' money predates both Flatto and finance board members' terms in office and that the Board of Finance, particularly after the economy worsened, felt that criteria should be established to determine how a non-profit gets on and off the list.

The Finance Department prepared a document that identified non-profits that received money in fiscal years 1991-92, 2000-01 and 2010-11.

Most groups on the list, such as the Audubon Society, Fairfield Counseling Services, Fairfield Historical Society (now known as the Fairfield Museum and History Center), Greater Bridgeport Council of Churches, Greater Bridgeport Regional Planning Agency, Pequot Library, The Discovery Museum, and Southwestern Connecticut EMS Council, received money in all three of those selected fiscal years. Others, such as the Barnum Museum, Safe Parks and Recreation for Kids, and Connecticut Food Bank, received money in prior years but not this fiscal year, while still others, such as the Fairfield Arts Council and Mill River Wetland Committee, didn't receive money in 1991-92 or 2000-01 but are receiving money this year.

The list of non-profits receiving money this year, in addition to Pequot Library, Fairfield Counseling Services and Grasmere by the Sea, are:

Connecticut Audubon Society: $15,000;

Fairfield Arts Council: $10,000;

Fairfield Museum and History Center: $32,500;

Fairfield Veterans Advisory and Information Service: $3,420;

Greater Bridgeport Council of Churches: $5,000;

Greater Bridgeport Regional Planning Agency: $18.053;

Greater Bridgeport Transit District: $30,000;

Mill River Wetland Committee: $5,000;

Regional Youth and Adult Substance Abuse Program: $15,000;

Southwestern Connecticut EMS Council: $3,040;

Southwest Regional Mental Health Board: $9,476;

Southwestern Regional Communications Center: $49,367;

Sullivan-McKinney Elder Housing: $5,000;

The Center for Women and Families: $6,100;

The Discovery Museum: $30,000;

The Kennedy Center: $7,000;

The Pilot House: $8,000.

Town Fiscal Officer Paul Hiller said he believed the percentage of the town budget that goes to non-profits is less today than it was 20 years ago.

In 1991-92, 19 groups received a total of $544,337; in 2000-01, 17 groups received a total of $773,584; and this year, 20 groups are receiving a total of $851,956.

For comparison purposes, Pequot Library received $174,900 in 1991-92, $270,000 in 2000-01 and $350,000 this year; Fairfield Counseling Services received $142,952 in 1991-92, $200,143 in 2000-01 and $175,000 this year; and Grasmere by the Sea (formerly Grasmere Eldercare Center) received $10,000 in 1991-92, $105,000 in 2000-01 and $75,000 this year.