Community groups and not-for-profits across Grande Prairie could see less funding from the city over the next couple of weeks. A Committee of the Whole meeting was held Wednesday to discuss funding levels for 2022 and 2023.
The funding level overall will remain the same as it was in 2021 at just over $3.85 million. However, each organization may see a decrease in what they are approved for as city council aims for a tax rate increase of 1.4 to 2.4 per cent next year.
The final funding amounts will be finalized at a meeting next week and each group will be considered individually. Some of the suggested decreases would see groups like the Grande Prairie and District Golden Age Centre receive $38,000 rather than $40,000 and the Grande Prairie Youth Emergency Shelter Society allocated $106,700, lowered from the initial ask of $130,000.
Grande Prairie Mayor Jackie Clayton says city councillors have discussed the requests at length and will do so again at the next city council meeting. The talks revolve around several factors when it comes to the needs of those types of organizations.
“There were various non-profit groups across our community and across Canada that were in a situation with scaling back their operations, that were not spending as much money in their communities, and not providing as much support and as much programming.”
“Many non-profit organizations received federal support through wage support or rent support, and not every organization or non-profit organization had to lay people off,” she adds.
The next council meeting is slated for June 14th.