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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-06-2018 - Item #2 - Sexton2   Cara, Thank you for sending me the information on the Grants-in-Aid Applications. As I told you, I will not be able to attend the HRC tomorrow evening. I would appreciate it if you would share the following with the Commission members at the meeting: I would like to say that the issue that concerned me the most was the grants-in-aid criteria that dismissed the request by the Alliance for Pharmaceutical Access on the basis that the monies requested were going towards staff salaries and that access to pharmaceuticals for the uninsured and underinsured was not a major funding priority. As a subcommittee member in 2016, these were my reasons for recommending funding their program: Meets criteria. Helps underinsured  and seniors facing "medicare gap" in obtaining  prescriptions. 89% of budget comes from non‐govt donations. Have doubled the  number of SLO Clients served (80 several times a year). Partner with many other  agencies.  That year, the Commission recommended $5000 for the organization while they had requested $11,500. I believe they also received funding in 2017, although I could not find the exact amount After reading over the APA application in full, I can understand why the subcommittee denied any funding. The funding requested was primarily for the establishment of a Los Osos Clinic. I believe this would have been a better rationale for denying funding rather than the explanation that funding salaries and administrative expenses was not a priority. 3 At the last meeting a Commission member argued that we should fund products and services, not salaries and administrative expenses. Providing services cannot be done effectively in many cases without the staff that provides the services. If we judge that the grants should not be used for administrative purposes, then I believe we owe the applicants that knowledge prior to the application process rather than after the fact, and should not dismiss any applicant for not knowing that this year. I believe as money gets tighter, we should clearly explain what we will fund and what we cannot. I also believe the APA should be advised that their application requested help expanding their services in the County, and while we greatly appreciate what they do, limited funding required us to make recommendations on the basis of services offered to SLO residents. Thanks for hearing me out, and I apologize for not being able to attend the June 6th meeting. Carol Sexton Vice-Chair, Human Relations Commission         1 Tonikian, Victoria From:Vereschagin, Cara Sent:Wednesday, June 06, 2018 10:02 AM To:Tonikian, Victoria Subject:FW: My thoughts on grants-in-aid Hi Victoria, please see the following agenda correspondence for tonight’s HRC meeting. Can you publish? Thanks! Cara Vereschagin Planning Technician Community Development 919 Palm Street, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401-3218 E CVereschagin@slocity.org T 805.781.7596 slocity.org From: Vereschagin, Cara   Sent: Wednesday, June 6, 2018 10:01 AM  To: 'Carol Sexton' <   Subject: RE: My thoughts on grants‐in‐aid  Thank you Carol, I will forward this along as an agenda correspondence item to the Clerk’s Office. Have a great rest of your day, Cara Vereschagin Planning Technician Community Development 919 Palm Street, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401-3218 E CVereschagin@slocity.org T 805.781.7596 slocity.org From: Carol Sexton <    Sent: Tuesday, June 5, 2018 5:26 PM  To: Vereschagin, Cara <CVereschagin@slocity.org>  Subject: My thoughts on grants‐in‐aid  Meeting Date: 06-06-2018 Received: 06-06-2018 Item #: 2