Toledo City Council votes to restore Community Development Block Grant funding for homeless shelters

6/11/2013

A majority of Toledo City Council voted today to restore Community Development Block Grant funding to four city homeless shelters back to the same levels as last year.

The 10-1 vote was the latest move in an ongoing saga that pitted council against Mayor Mike Bell regarding allocation of that federal money. Councilman Adam Martinez cast the lone no vote. Councilman Tom Waniewski, who works part-time for St. Paul's Community Center writing grants, abstained.

The Bell administration last week offered a plan to shift more federal money to three homeless shelters using the city’s 2013 Community Development Block Grant allocation, which Mayor Bell announced would be higher than it was last year. But the directors of two homeless facilities — Renee Palacios of Family House, a family shelter in central Toledo, and Denise Fox of Aurora House, a shelter for homeless women and their children in North Toledo — said the amounts proposed were below still their shares of federal money last year.

Council rejected his plan and voted to approve one offered by Councilman D. Michael Collins, who is also running for mayor against Mr. Bell and others.

The plan council approved gives an additional $64,166 to Family House, 669 Indiana Ave., $57,667 to Aurora House, 1035 N. Superior St.; $$10,611 to LaPosada, 435 Eastern Ave.; and $21,971 to St. Paul’s Community Center, 230 13th St.