READY, FIRE, AIM when it comes to Grant or “Free” Money???

There is growing concern that our City Staff and City Council move too rapidly to implement new programs involving Grants that are purported to help Benicia but that may in fact contribute just the opposite. The most recent is the Solar Panel Project closely followed by the designation of over 1000 acres of Benicia as Priority Development Areas, followed by the Community Center and the restoration of the Commandant’s Building.

Each of these programs has one thing in common, grants and/or supposedly “free money”. For some reason, the notion of “free money” acts in ways similar to that of a narcotic; common sense is often thrown out the window and all efforts to seize the money at any cost before someone else gets it are applied. I have personally heard Councilmembers comment that they really don’t support a proposal but there is no way they will let a quantity of grant dollars be lost so they vote for the proposal anyway. It is almost as if they really believe its “free money” vs. your and my tax dollars being carefully handed out by the County, State or Federal Government in return for our City’s agreement to do something they would not otherwise do.

I believe Benicia must take a giant step back and slow down to make sure we clearly understand all of the terms and conditions required of any grant and/or “free money”. In the case of the Solar Panels, require that the necessary contracts for property that does not belong to the City are signed BEFORE agreeing to proceed to commit the City Hall and Clocktower as collateral and entering into a $13.5 million dollar agreement for 26 years. The Priority Development Area designation encumbered over 1000 acres for over 25 years just to get in line to request $47 Million dollars of grant money but without one answer as to the terms or conditions of such a request. In the case of the Community Center, to fully understand and publically communicate the short and long term implications of borrowing $2 million dollars from our Reserve Fund thereby compromising our ability to protect our community in event of an unforeseen emergency until those funds are paid back. In the case of the Commandant’s building, require that a long term lease with a tenant be signed BEFORE agreeing to commit several million dollars to restore a building that then sits empty for years, costing ongoing maintenance expenses while generating no income. I believe in each case the rationale was that the window for the “free money” was going to close and we had to move quickly, make a decision without all the facts, NOW. Sound familiar?

Well, I think its very bad business to be rushed into unwise decisions and is not illustrative of being a good steward of the taxpayer’s funds or assets. If we are unable to assure that our interest are protected, then we should simply pass on the free money. If the time limit is such that we are unable to get answers to all of our questions, then we should take a pass, and not enter into any agreement. At a very minimum, the public should demand that all grant/free money proposals be heard by the City Council in two separate regular meetings, one to fully understand we have all the questions and issues clearly identified and the second to have the City provide those answers to the public BEFORE any agreement is made to encumber the City sometimes for decades.

Lastly, approval of grants or “free money” should NEVER be considered as an item on the Consent Calendar where it is much easier to get approval without discussion. These requests should always be considered as an agenda item warranting full disclosure and discussion before being voted upon.

What do you think?