Binghamton Council Postpones Vote On Federal Funding Allocation

On Wednesday, City Council postponed their votes that would decide how to spend more than $100,000 in federal funding, due to Catholic Charities of Broome County lobbying for at least $14,000 of that money to help fund their community program which provides bus rides for senior citizens. The nonprofit agency is looking for the money from the Community Development Block Grant program for their Retired Senior Volunteer Program, or RSVP. Council members showed varying opinions on the delaying of the votes, with some believing the council should try to find the funding to continue RSVP, and others saying the delay in voting is delaying money that other community groups were expecting. Each year, the Community Development Advisory Committee reviews the various agencies’ applications for federal funding, and the committee makes a decision on how to spend the money, which is then reviewed by the council. This year, the committee decided to pull funding for RSVP, which served 46 people in Binghamton this past year, taking over 2,500 bus trips. The council is expected to consider adjusting the spending plan at its meeting on December 16th.