The Early City Council met yesterday at noon to discuss budget requests from community partners around Brown County. This allows representatives from these organizations to meet in person with the Early City Council and will enable them to understand their situations better.
Brown County Welfare Board gave updates so that the Early Council knows where the money is going. There are 75 Brown County children in care. They said this is about average. The Child Welfare Board focuses on kinship care, work with CPS, and provides goods and services needed. Kinship care does not receive a lot of funding from the state.
Brownwood Public Library was next to speak on why they need funding. Early gives $10,000 to the library annually. The Brownwood Public Library’s main point was the library is very underfunded per person compared to libraries that serve similar populations.
Corinne T Smith Animal Center approached the Council about its funding needs. They expressed that they are $150,000 to $175,000 in debt due to the intake of animals, how much it costs to take care of those animals, repairs to kennels, areas of the facility, air conditioning, and other items. Their yearly fundraising efforts are around $80,000. Their request is $30,000 a year from the City of Early as more things get expensive. They did state that not having to stay and neutering ordinances lead to the intake of more strays that end up in the shelter, thus costing more money.
The Ark Shelter then came to make a funding request as well. They serve victims of domestic violence and sexual assault, providing 24-hour shelter and other services. They serve about 300 individuals a year and teach preventative measures at schools. Grants that The Ark goes for require them to have a match with community funding.
Brownwood Senior Citizens Center followed and had a funding request of $5,000 annually. Brownwood Senior Citizens Center provided the Early City Council with the percentage of participants in the city of Early, center activities, and meals delivered at the center. They stated that there is restricted grant funding for mobile meal providing that is limited to Brownwood city limits and there is a population they serve in Early on a regular basis.
Center for Life Resources was last and expressed the serious problem in mental health accessibility in Texas. Texas is ranked 50th in mental health accessibility. Center for Life Resources is a quasi-local government unit that is a non-profit. They serve many counties and are not limited to this area. State revenue is not even a quarter of their total budget. They address all mental health needs and serve 5,000 people in Brown County. They are not seeing a stabilization in mental health across adults and youth in the area. Center for Life Resources works with babies, children, and adults.
This was only a time for requests, and the City of Early will continue to have more budget workshops.