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City Asked to Double Funds for Job Training

Posted on: Monday, 11 July 2005, 21:00 CDT

Jul. 9--Supporters of Project Quest, a job-training program long dependent on city funding, are pushing for $3 million in San Antonio's 2006 budget -- twice as much as it received this year.

Communities Organized for Public Service and Metro Alliance also want the City Council to drop a rule requiring Project Quest to raise at least half its operating revenue from other sources.

"We're looking to end that match," said Mike Phillips of Metro Alliance. "It's too important a program to be subject to these kinds of restrictions."

Last year, the council adopted a funding formula for human-development service providers, including Project Quest, aimed at shrinking their reliance on city money.

In fiscal year 2005, which started Oct. 1, the agencies could get no more than 65 percent of their funding from the city. Next year, the guideline drops to 50 percent.

Councilman Richard Perez would oppose dropping the formula for Project Quest.

"The city of San Antonio is here to help folks, but we're not here to provide the majority of these groups' budgets," Perez said. "We're not a bank."

COPS and Metro Alliance, meanwhile, already won Mayor Phil Hardberger's support for more money.

"I'm for it because it goes to the center of my economic development program," which turns on creating a better-trained work force in San Antonio, Hardberger said.

He wasn't deterred by the funding formula, saying: "It would not be a deal-breaker because they do good work."

Councilman Roland Gutierrez also supports the increased funding, but he said he wants Project Quest officials to demonstrate that the city's funding isn't "mired in administrative expenses."

Councilman Kevin Wolff, on the other hand, comes down against both granting $3 million and suspending the funding formula for Project Quest.

"We have 70-some-odd delegate agencies, and the vast majority receive less than 25 percent of their funding from the city," Wolff said. "(Project Quest) is a great program. I just think they need to work a little harder to support themselves."

COPS and Metro Alliance officials have tried to persuade council members to drop Project Quest's status as a delegate agency under the Department of Community Initiatives' control. That would free it from the funding restriction.

Instead, they argue it should be considered an economic development agency capable of attracting companies to San Antonio.

In the meantime, Project Quest Executive Director Mary Peña said the agency met this year's requirement of securing 35 percent of its operating budget from sources beyond city government.

The organization so far has commitments for $1 million from foundations and other government entities for 2006, according to Peña. But matching a city allocation of $3 million next year with outside funds "would be very difficult," she said.

A grant of $3 million would equal what the organization received from the city in 2000 -- its high-water mark for municipal funding.

A city allocation that size, Peña said, would allow Project Quest to boost the number of people receiving training to about 1,000 next year.

The agency last year partially turned back an attempt to cut its funding from $2.4 million to $1 million. Late in the budget-writing process, the council kicked in another $500,000, bringing the total to $1.5 million.

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Source: San Antonio Express-News

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