Part of the room taxes paid by those staying in Ceres motels and hotels will be distributed to various community groups and non-profits by councilmembers, the council determined last week.
The city formerly was giving some of the Transient and Occupancy Tax (TOT) revenues to groups but ended that practice ended with budget problems. In June City Manager Doug Dunford heard a request of the council to return to the old policy and set up a structure last week outlining how much each member could decide where the funds go.
Dunford suggested that the council give no more than $6,000 per year, with the mayor having $2,000 to allocate and each councilmember $1,000. The council later voted to increase the amount to $5,000 per councilmember.
The process involves the councilmember filling out paperwork and forwarding it to the Finance Department at least four weeks in advance of the donation date. Eligible will be Ceres nonprofit organizations which are recognized by the IRS as a 51(c)3. Funds cannot be directed to organizations that benefit family members.
Ceres resident John Warren spoke and suggested considering the local VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars) is struggling with an aging membership of 47. Insurance costs are increasing, he noted.
Ceres City Councilwoman Cerina Otero, reluctant because of the city’s budget problems, opposed the council deciding and wanted to see a new committee formed to decide.
“I just don’t feel it’s fair to have the council decide where the donations are made,” said Otero. “These events are for the community and they should be the ones to decide where the money goes.”
She also said having the council choose who gets the money could “become a problem later” because some groups would maybe not know about how to request funds and miss out.
Vice Mayor Daniel Martinez said an oversight committee wasn’t necessary and just adds another layer to slow down the process.
After hearing that $25,000 was already budgeted from the TOT, Mayor Javier Lopez asked why more wasn’t being allocated, and suggested $5,000 per member – with no extra amount for himself to distribute. But Martinez said he was fine with keeping the $2,000 and $1,000 amounts the same but to give the VFW $1,500 for the year.
“A lot of them are lifetime members and they’ve earned that,” said the vice mayor.
Dunford argued against a new committee, citing the difficulties in getting people to agree.
Councilman James Casey remarked that he didn’t recall the council budgeting $25,000 to give away – even to worthy community groups – and would have voted “no” because “we don’t have the money.”
Dunford said the idea was brought up by the council during a 2-2-1 meeting and that the $25,000 figure was equal to about what the city was already handing to various groups like the Street Faire Committee and Ceres Chamber of Commerce and for some events.
Martinez motioned for $25,000 to be distributed for the year, and supported by Lopez, Casey and Martinez and opposed by Rosalinda Vierra and Otero.
