Marshfield Common Council Approves New Policy for Donation Requests
Wednesday, December 12th, 2018 -- 8:57 AM
(WDLB) -The city of Marshfield now has a policy for dealing with donation requests from non-profit organizations, after recently saying "yes" to some while "no" to others.The new policy was adopted by the Marshfield Common Council last night on a vote of 7-to-3. City Administrator Steve Barg says the new policy should make it easier for Marshfield aldermen to decide which organizations should get funding, and which ones should not.
And there would be no automatic renewals within the new policy. Just because an organization has received funding before, doesn't mean the same group will get renewed for funding the following year without reapplying. Alderman Tom Witzel wondered about organizations such as the Upham Mansion, the Marshfield Civic Band and the Palm Sunday Choir, all of which have received funding for years, but apparently wouldn't even qualify for funding moving forward under the new policy. Barg said the policy also clarifies that political parties and organizations that are "start-ups" are not eligible for funding.
Earlier this year, Marshfield aldermen voted on two different occasions against funding for the city's domestic abuse organization. The Common Council voted against donating up to 40-thousand dollars to the Personal Development Center, which had asked the city March 27 for 80-thousand dollars to cover the costs associated with the acquisition of the former home of Marshfield's now-defunct transitional homeless shelter.
In March of 2016, Marshfield aldermen said "no" to a donation request from one of the city's signature non-profit organizations. The Council voted against giving St. Vincent DePaul 100-thousand dollars. Those rejections came while the city decided to give money to the Marshfield Area Pet Shelter and to the heroin prevention program through the Marshfield Area Coalition For Youth.
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