Dothan and Houston County Concerned About Federal Cutbacks
By: Scott Packard, SPackard@wdhn.com
Updated: March 3, 2011
Both the City of Dothan and Houston County know what could be coming.
"It's going to be a trickle down effect that is really going to effect local governments," Houston County Commission Chairman Mark Culver said.
"Cities and other governmental entities are going to have less money available to help people who are hurting and have a lot of needs," Dothan City Manager Mike West said.
The concerned is based on what's going on in Washington. As the federal government hammers out their budget-- several programs are ending up on the chopping block.
"The federal government is deeply in debt, they are making significant changes in their spending," Culver continued.
A big concern at the local level are cuts to the Community Development Block Grant program. The program provides money to local communities to use pretty much as they best see fit. The 2011 federal budget will likely cut funding for the program by more than half.
The program is designed to help low to moderate income people and neighborhoods. Last year Houston County received about $260,000 for a water project in Ashford.
"Revenues are down and now the potential for getting grants and other things that we use to put in water lines is potentially drying up. It's creating a real difficult situation. It's something we have to look really closely at," Culver said.
Last year Dothan received about $550,000 from the program. The money funds non profit agencies and programs. A big portion goes toward a program that offers low income people help with home repairs.
"For every one person we are able to fund we get six requests. There are a lot of people who have difficulty especially when you look at the economy today," West said.
It's another case of too many programs chasing too few dollars.
"It's going to be a trickle down effect that is really going to effect local governments," Houston County Commission Chairman Mark Culver said.
"Cities and other governmental entities are going to have less money available to help people who are hurting and have a lot of needs," Dothan City Manager Mike West said.
The concerned is based on what's going on in Washington. As the federal government hammers out their budget-- several programs are ending up on the chopping block.
"The federal government is deeply in debt, they are making significant changes in their spending," Culver continued.
A big concern at the local level are cuts to the Community Development Block Grant program. The program provides money to local communities to use pretty much as they best see fit. The 2011 federal budget will likely cut funding for the program by more than half.
The program is designed to help low to moderate income people and neighborhoods. Last year Houston County received about $260,000 for a water project in Ashford.
"Revenues are down and now the potential for getting grants and other things that we use to put in water lines is potentially drying up. It's creating a real difficult situation. It's something we have to look really closely at," Culver said.
Last year Dothan received about $550,000 from the program. The money funds non profit agencies and programs. A big portion goes toward a program that offers low income people help with home repairs.
"For every one person we are able to fund we get six requests. There are a lot of people who have difficulty especially when you look at the economy today," West said.
It's another case of too many programs chasing too few dollars.
