Thirty-nine worthy nonprofit groups made their pitches for county money Monday afternoon. If they all began to sound alike, there was at least one reason.
A lot of them were saying the same things. But not many had the numbers to back their claims on the county commissioners' purse- and heart-strings.
"We've been singing this song for the last three years," commissioner Chairman Michael Page (right) said after the groups' presentations were done. "A lot of these groups are perfoming the same kind of service."
"I counted 16 organizations that talked about youth," said Commissioner Brenda Howerton.
The nonprofits had applied for money in the county's 2009-'10 budget. Earlier in the day, the commissioners heard an estimate that the county's tax base will drop by almost $1.7 million due to the recessed economy, and County Manager Mike Ruffin told them, "The recommended budget you'll is going to be extremely lean."
Ruffin will present a recommended budget later this month.
Groups making application included the Coordinating Council for Senior Citizens, the Piedmont Wildlife Center, Salvation Army and John Avery boys and girls clubs, Genesis Home and the Triangle Champions Track Club — along with Durham County Teen Court, Project Graduation, Partnership for Children, Yo! Durham, Achievement Academy, among others.
"I think Durham County could get a star in their crown by bringing these groups together," Page said. "They're probably hitting the same kind of kids. ... We're not having any collaboration."
Others called results into question.
"You should use recession to take a hard look," said Bud Lavery of Communities in Schools. "We have too many feel-good programs in the community. ... They need to show real results.
Lavery said the commissioners should "Shift money from programs that feel good to programs that work."
Commissioner Ellen Reckhow echoed that theme.
"It's a frustrating thing," she said. "There's no closing of the loop for them to tell us ... how they did in previous years. At some point we need to look at performance."
Despite many groups' addressing education, Reckhow said, Durham County remains below the state average on reading and math tests "grade after grade.
"We're not seeing impact," she said. "We have got to structure our contracts ... such that we know what the outcomes are, no ifs, ands or buts."
