HILO — Hawaii County is looking to spread its nonprofit funding to a few more programs in its next budget.
An ad hoc committee made up of four of the nine County Council members is recommending that $1.5 million be distributed among 90 programs in the 2012-13 fiscal year that begins July 1.
That’s up slightly from the current budget that allocated the same amount of funds to 84 programs.
The council will vote on the recommendation May 2.
County Council Vice Chairman Angel Pilago, who chaired the committee, said it aimed to fund programs that serve the most people and are the most self-sustaining.
“We wanted to make sure they can stand on their own,” he said.
Additionally, the committee sought to distribute the funds evenly throughout the Big Island, Pilago said.
The county received 99 applications for funding.
The funding plan is the second in a row at the $1.5 million level.
Previously, funding reached as low as $900,000, Pilago said.
The council had increased it for this fiscal year to cover a rise in demand for social services, but he said he doesn’t think it goes far enough.
“The need far exceeds our ability to provide these services,” Pilago said, adding he would like to see it reach $2 million the following year if property tax revenues increase.
The nonprofits know that fact all too well.
The Puna Community Medical Center is set to get $64,000 from the county, the largest of the allocations, to provide medical treatment to patients with limited or no insurance.
Yet that is down from $115,000 this fiscal year, and will provide about half of what the clinic needs, said Daniel Domizio, clinical programs director.
“It’s going to be tough,” he said.
Domizio said the clinic, which opened in 2009, will likley not turn away any patients as a result, but it will have to look for additional funding.
“We don’t have a lot of latitude,” he said.
The committee is also recommending funding for 25 programs that had not been selected in at least the last four budgets.
One of them is the expansion of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Hawaii to the Big Island.
The Honolulu-based organization would receive $5,000 under the funding plan.
President Dennis Brown said the group would use the funds for an after-school program it started two weeks ago at Keaau Elementary School and for starting a mentoring program on the island.
Both are part of the group’s statewide expansion effort.
“We want to start small and grow it overtime,” Brown said.
He said the organization will also soon consolidate with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Maui, and will eventually establish four regional offices, including one on the Big Island.
“It’s a big move for us,” Brown said.