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Group gets grant, but not an apology
Committee chair reads a statement that calls reference to society's name unfortunate, awards it $7,500 in funds.
By Chris Wiebe
CITY HALL — A bulk of the nonprofit groups that applied for Community Development Block Grant funds came away from Tuesday's City Council meeting reasonably happy, but not the Armenian Relief Society.
The chairman of the Community Development Goals Committee read a prepared statement Tuesday calling comments that some felt were anti-Armenian in nature that were expressed during a committee meeting "unfortunate" — but not offering an apology.
The committee, tasked with making recommendations to the council regarding dispensation of block grant funds, took heat this month over allegations that during a meeting, some committee members suggested that the Armenian Relief Society would be more likely to receive funding if the organization removed "Armenian" from its name.
The Armenian Relief Society provides assistance to immigrants and refugees to the United States and was one of more than a dozen local agencies requesting public funds Tuesday.
Responding to the allegations for the first time in a public forum, committee chairman Kirk Bowren read a letter to the council on behalf of the committee.
"Questions and comments were made in reference to the connotation of the Armenian Relief Society name, but only in the context of the universality of services and whether or not the name alone would tend to limit its clientele and attract only given segments of the community," he said. "No condition or other funding prerequisite was intended or meant by any question or comment."
But the statement did not satisfy some Armenian community members in attendance Tuesday, who noted that the committee's recommendations included reduced funding for the relief society this year.
"I did hear the chairperson of that committee speak and I appreciate those comments," said Shant Minas, a Burbank resident who was speaking on behalf of the Armenian National Committee Burbank Chapter. "However, it did sound like he was trying to paint what was said at some of those meetings — some of those slighting comments and sentiments — in a different light and make it sound like we were taking words out of context."
Some committee members had voiced reservations about handing over public funds to an organization that identifies itself with a particular ethnicity or religion — a sentiment maintained by Councilman Dave Golonski.
"I would recommend … reducing the funding for the Armenian Relief Society to zero," Golonski said, before the council decided on this year's funding amounts. "And I fully respect and understand the work that the Armenian Relief Society does. But I can't support public funding for them because I don't believe that they are as inclusive as they need to be to justify the public funding…. I think that when we go down the path of funding ethic-centric relief groups, if we do it for one, we're going to have to do it for all."
The goals committee recommended a $5,000 disbursement for the relief society this year, but the council sided with the recommendation of the city's executive staff, awarding the nonprofit $7,500.
"I concur with the executive staff recommendation on the Armenian Relief Society, when we recognize that somewhere in the vicinity of 20% of our population has some Armenian relationship or descent, or is part of the Armenian community," Councilman Jef Vander Borght said. "This is a portion of the Burbank community that needs to have funds allocated and they are performing services that go directly to provide help for those members who live in Burbank and are residents of Burbank…. They're primarily of Armenian descent, but it is certainly not an exclusionary entity and I believe that it's a service that has got to be provided."
Armenian Relief Society officials have maintained that a significant portion of the organization's clients are non-Armenian and that the organization provides assistance in several languages, including Russian, French, Farsi and Arabic.
Of the $202,606 in block grant funding available for public service agencies this year, the Burbank Unified School District received the most money, with $48,000, which was on par with last year's figure.
The Family Services Agency, which provides social services to low-income families, was awarded $32,500, slightly more than the $30,000 the organization received in 2006.
The Boys and Girls' Club of Burbank received $20,000, down from $23,168 from last year.
"The city has been very generous to us over the years," said Shanna Warren, executive director of the Burbank Boy and Girls Club. "It's a little bit less than we got last year, but I understand that that sometimes happens. And the funding that we got will be used for our after-school programs at Miller and Emerson elementary, as well as our deaf and hard-of-hearing program, which serves kids from Washington [Elementary School], Muir [Middle School] and Burbank High."
The Burbank Temporary Aid Center received $32,106, about $4,000 more than the organization received last year.
The Salvation Army received $13,500, about $3,000 less than last year.
BCR A place to grow, formerly the Burbank Center for the Retarded, received $9,000, the same amount that the non-profit received in 2006; the Burbank YMCA also received the same grant funding as in 2006, with $10,000.
The Library Department's literacy program received $3,000 and the Burbank Noon Lions was given $2,000, both of which were identical to the organizations' grant funding in 2006.
CHRIS WIEBE covers City Hall and the courts. He may be reached at (818) 637-3242 or by e-mail at chris.wiebelatimes.com.
The chairman of the Community Development Goals Committee read a prepared statement Tuesday calling comments that some felt were anti-Armenian in nature that were expressed during a committee meeting "unfortunate" — but not offering an apology.
The committee, tasked with making recommendations to the council regarding dispensation of block grant funds, took heat this month over allegations that during a meeting, some committee members suggested that the Armenian Relief Society would be more likely to receive funding if the organization removed "Armenian" from its name.
The Armenian Relief Society provides assistance to immigrants and refugees to the United States and was one of more than a dozen local agencies requesting public funds Tuesday.
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"Questions and comments were made in reference to the connotation of the Armenian Relief Society name, but only in the context of the universality of services and whether or not the name alone would tend to limit its clientele and attract only given segments of the community," he said. "No condition or other funding prerequisite was intended or meant by any question or comment."
But the statement did not satisfy some Armenian community members in attendance Tuesday, who noted that the committee's recommendations included reduced funding for the relief society this year.
"I did hear the chairperson of that committee speak and I appreciate those comments," said Shant Minas, a Burbank resident who was speaking on behalf of the Armenian National Committee Burbank Chapter. "However, it did sound like he was trying to paint what was said at some of those meetings — some of those slighting comments and sentiments — in a different light and make it sound like we were taking words out of context."
Some committee members had voiced reservations about handing over public funds to an organization that identifies itself with a particular ethnicity or religion — a sentiment maintained by Councilman Dave Golonski.
"I would recommend … reducing the funding for the Armenian Relief Society to zero," Golonski said, before the council decided on this year's funding amounts. "And I fully respect and understand the work that the Armenian Relief Society does. But I can't support public funding for them because I don't believe that they are as inclusive as they need to be to justify the public funding…. I think that when we go down the path of funding ethic-centric relief groups, if we do it for one, we're going to have to do it for all."
The goals committee recommended a $5,000 disbursement for the relief society this year, but the council sided with the recommendation of the city's executive staff, awarding the nonprofit $7,500.
"I concur with the executive staff recommendation on the Armenian Relief Society, when we recognize that somewhere in the vicinity of 20% of our population has some Armenian relationship or descent, or is part of the Armenian community," Councilman Jef Vander Borght said. "This is a portion of the Burbank community that needs to have funds allocated and they are performing services that go directly to provide help for those members who live in Burbank and are residents of Burbank…. They're primarily of Armenian descent, but it is certainly not an exclusionary entity and I believe that it's a service that has got to be provided."
Armenian Relief Society officials have maintained that a significant portion of the organization's clients are non-Armenian and that the organization provides assistance in several languages, including Russian, French, Farsi and Arabic.
Of the $202,606 in block grant funding available for public service agencies this year, the Burbank Unified School District received the most money, with $48,000, which was on par with last year's figure.
The Family Services Agency, which provides social services to low-income families, was awarded $32,500, slightly more than the $30,000 the organization received in 2006.
The Boys and Girls' Club of Burbank received $20,000, down from $23,168 from last year.
"The city has been very generous to us over the years," said Shanna Warren, executive director of the Burbank Boy and Girls Club. "It's a little bit less than we got last year, but I understand that that sometimes happens. And the funding that we got will be used for our after-school programs at Miller and Emerson elementary, as well as our deaf and hard-of-hearing program, which serves kids from Washington [Elementary School], Muir [Middle School] and Burbank High."
The Burbank Temporary Aid Center received $32,106, about $4,000 more than the organization received last year.
The Salvation Army received $13,500, about $3,000 less than last year.
BCR A place to grow, formerly the Burbank Center for the Retarded, received $9,000, the same amount that the non-profit received in 2006; the Burbank YMCA also received the same grant funding as in 2006, with $10,000.
The Library Department's literacy program received $3,000 and the Burbank Noon Lions was given $2,000, both of which were identical to the organizations' grant funding in 2006.
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