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Mount Pleasant DC Forum
Discussion about the Mount Pleasant Neighborhood
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dsachdev
Joined: 20 Oct 2004
Posts: 401
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 Posted: Mon Dec 12, 2011 3:18 pm Post subject: ANC Money |
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I am a bit curious to know what types of things the money the district gives to each ANC can be used for. If I remember correctly, the MtP ANC has not been using much of it's share of money because there are some challenges to how to spend it. One example would be the micro-grant program that was attempted in the last year or two - but some brought issues up with on here.
The reason I ask is that as I was driving across Park last night crossing over from Columbia Heights into MtP I noticed now nice the new street lights looked now that they are done working on Park. It started me thinking that it would be nice if MtP had neighborhood light post signs like Adam's Morgan does, or like the new ones on H Street. I was thinking that this might be something nice that helps the entire neighborhood - and isn't directed as an individual or business - and thus might be a good use of ANC funds.
Thoughts? Input?
Examples of the H Street ones can be seen here:
http://hstreetgreatstreet.blogspot.com/ |
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jack
Joined: 23 Mar 2004
Posts: 4399
Location: 19th & Lamont
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| Posted: Tue Dec 13, 2011 9:59 am Post subject: Re: ANC Money |
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| dsachdev wrote: | I am a bit curious to know what types of things the money the district gives to each ANC can be used for. If I remember correctly, the MtP ANC has not been using much of it's share of money because there are some challenges to how to spend it. One example would be the micro-grant program that was attempted in the last year or two - but some brought issues up with on here.
The reason I ask is that as I was driving across Park last night crossing over from Columbia Heights into MtP I noticed now nice the new street lights looked now that they are done working on Park. It started me thinking that it would be nice if MtP had neighborhood light post signs like Adam's Morgan does, or like the new ones on H Street. I was thinking that this might be something nice that helps the entire neighborhood - and isn't directed as an individual or business - and thus might be a good use of ANC funds.
Thoughts? Input?
Examples of the H Street ones can be seen here:
http://hstreetgreatstreet.blogspot.com/ |
In part:
(l)(1) A Commission shall expend funds received through the annual allocation received pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, or other donated funds, for public purposes within the Commission area or for the functioning of the Commission office, including staff salaries, Commissioner training, property liability insurance, and nominal refreshments at Commission meetings. Expenditures may be in the form of grants by the Commission for public purposes within the Commission area pursuant to subsection (m) of this section.
Concerning grants:
(m)(1) A grant may not be awarded unless the grant is awarded pursuant to a vote of the Commission at a public meeting following the public presentation of the grant request. A Commission may approve grants only to organizations that are public in nature and benefit persons who reside or work within the Commission area. The services provided by the grantee organization must not be duplicative of any that are already performed by the District government.
A problem for all ANCs, but especially for small ones like ours, is that the funds provided aren't sufficient to hire paid staff to do routine ANC jobs, such as handling routine secretarial and treasurer chores. We commissioners have to do everything ourselves, and sometimes not very well (our experience with past Commissioner-Treasurers has been terrible). Because there are no persons on paid staff, the funds in the bank tend to pile up over the years. That gives the appearance of lots of money being given to the commissions, but it's really a sign that the fund allotted aren't adequate.
This ANC currently receives about $14,000 a year, much of which goes to paying for the monthly meeting room, for putting up the monthly meeting posters, for the Spanish interpreter, for the audio system setup. Come 2013, our funding will decrease to under $12,000 a year, as this commission shrinks from six commissioners to five. That's fine, so long as I continue to do all the secretarial and financial work myself, for free. But it would be better to have someone on staff to do these things, someone who wouldn't disappear with the next election cycle, and would carry his knowledge of these tasks forward to the next commission, whoever happens to be elected.
That's our main problem: how to hire competent staff, with an annual budget that, after other expenses, allows for only a few thousand dollars a year for a staff salary?
Our problem isn't one of having so much money that we don't know how to spend it. It's having so little that we really can't afford to hire the competent assistance that the commission needs.
-- Jack |
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dsachdev
Joined: 20 Oct 2004
Posts: 401
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| Posted: Tue Dec 13, 2011 3:19 pm Post subject: |
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| Thanks for the clarification Jack. |
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racefanTX
Joined: 10 Jul 2012
Posts: 1
Location: USA
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| Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2012 9:45 am Post subject: |
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| Excellent details can be found upon these kind of boards. Many thanks guys. |
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