Galesburg City Council chambers at City Hall.
Galesburg City Council on Monday voted to $115,000 in external agency funding using a new system for deciding who gets what.
The vote was unanimous although Sarah Davis and Jaclyn Smith-Esters abstained because of their involvement in organizations receiving funds.
City Manager Gerald Smith says the external agency funding requests have increased in recent years to the point where the trajectory is not sustainable.
Smith says staff established a system using statistic weights to make the funding recommendations.
Those criteria include asking will the event or agency result in overnight stays, will it improve quality of life or will it helps underserved populations.
The city also tried to avoid cutting or increasing funding by 50 percent or more based on 2019 levels.
There were six organizations that requested funding for the first time like Trail Riders of Lake Storey and Prairie Players and the Support Group for African-Americans.
The external funding total was set by Council at $110,000 in their annual budgeting in December.
Jaclyn Smith-Esters said it was difficult to limit funding, but joined Larry Cox and Sarah Davis in encouraging the community to give to the listed organizations.
Mayor Peter Schwartzman says that the city has resources to fund all the requests, saying there’s “no doubt” the city could find $100,000 in its budget.
He’s encouraging the council to bring back more agency funding later, possibly in the next month or two.
