At its Wednesday meeting, the Mancos town council approved the first round of agency contribution requests for the 2018 budget.
Representatives from Axis Health System, Four Corners Recycling Initiative and Hospice of Montezuma attended the meeting to ask the council to help fund them in 2018. The council approved a total of $6,000 in contributions for those agencies and for the Mancos Senior Center and Montezuma County Public Transportation, which had submitted requests before the meeting. The town’s draft 2018 budget contains $12,000 for agency contributions, with the next round of funding requests due in April.
According to Interim Town Manager Heather Alvarez, the town funds a few social service agencies every year, giving priority to nonprofits and organizations dedicated to serving community needs that are not met elsewhere.
“I wish we had more money to give you,” Mayor Pro Tem Fred Brooks said at the beginning of the discussion.
Board member Craig Benally asked Casey Simpson of Four Corners Recycling, which also received funding in 2017, to communicate more with the town about the nonprofit’s budget and goals for next year. Alvarez said the Senior Center’s application was incomplete, but the board voted to fund it anyway. Board member Cindy Simpson said the center had never submitted an incomplete application before. The council voted unanimously to award $1,125 to Axis for its Acute Treatment Unit; $1,500 to Four Corners for hauling recycling bins; $1,125 to the Hospice for comfort care; $1,250 to the Senior Center for its meals program; and $1,000 to Montezuma Transportation for grant matches.
Mayor Queenie Barz, who works for Hospice of Montezuma, recused herself from the discussion and vote.