Columbus city council authorizes $950,000 in crime prevention funds

Columbus city council made a sweeping approval of 44 resolutions Tuesday night authorizing the dispersal of $950,000 in crime prevention funds. Director Seth Brown said the Crime Prevention Board received 56 applications requesting $2.6 million in funding this year.

Brown told NowGeorgia.com the 44 approved applicants is not a record and that 46 organizations have received funding in a previous year. He said the Crime Prevention Board uses a “rubric and then come together and discuss all the applications.  All decisions are made by the 7-person Board.” Board members are nominated by the mayor and council.

The money provided for crime prevention grants comes from the public safety OLOST that was put in place in 2009 according to the director. Columbus Tech’s Job Training Program was awarded the largest amount dispersed to one organization in the amount of $150,000.

Large sums of money were also awarded to organizations including Second Chance W.O.R.K.S. which was approved for $78,000 in funding. Truth Spring was awarded $60,000 and Flourishing Ladies was approved for $50,000.

Several local groups targeting crime prevention received $30,000 each from the board. Those organizations include Goodwill Industries of Southern Rivers, Omega Lamda, Wright Fitness, Service for Humanity and Right from the Start-Survival Skills for Healthy Families.

Other grants were approved in the amounts of $5,000, $10,000, and $20,000 to several organizations. According to official minutes from the Crime Prevention Board meetings some groups were denied funding for “incomplete applications” or a failure to provide specific numbers about how many citizens were served directly by the organization.