City Council discretionary fund helps local nonprofits, community projects

The Huntsville City Council has funded a variety of community projects and nonprofit organizations this year, coming from a discretionary improvement fund established for each Huntsville City Council district.

The City Council proposed a resolution last year that would allow the City to administer $75,000 in discretionary improvement funds to each of the City’s five districts. Here’s where the funds are going:

Organizations receiving City Council funding

Since the cash-funded expenditures were approved for the fiscal year 2023 budget, all five Council districts have benefited from the funds, which must assist the public in the district in which monies are allocated.

Here’s where these funds have gone:

District 1

• Real Fathers Making a Difference – $2,500 for Building H.I.S. Character Mentoring Program
• The Bullpen Foundation – $2,500 for community-based youth athletics programs
• Huntsville Revisited – $3,500 for promotion and preservation of fine art and history of North Alabama
• Arts Huntsville – $30,000 for mural project at the Dr. Robert Shurney Legacy Center
• Meadow Hills Initiative, Inc. – $2,500 for youth summer programs
• Huntsville Parks & Recreation – $5,000 for summer reading program at Dr. Richard Showers, Sr. Recreation Center and grand opening of Legacy Park
• Delta Theta Lambda Education Foundation – $2,500 for Men of Valor Mentoring Program

District 2

• Land Trust of North Alabama – $30,000 for land acquisition and conservation

District 3

• Huntsville & Madison County Railroad Authority – $75,000 for crossing equipment installation

District 4

• Huntsville Association for Pastoral Care – $5,000 for an Angel of Hope memorial
• Huntsville Animal Services – $25,000 to increase adoptions and decrease euthanasia
• Huntsville Public Works – $45,000 for road resurfacing and/or sidewalk construction in District 4

District 5

• Columbia High School Wrestling – $5,000 for equipment and participation fees
• Huntsville Police Department – $6,500 for license plate reader installation

A ‘valuable tool’ for council members

Council President John Meredith said having a fund for each district allows Council members to allocate taxpayer dollars where improvements are most needed.

“Improvement funds, which must be used for the general welfare of citizens, have proven to be a valuable tool for Council members to address unbudgeted district-specific needs that increase the quality of life of our individual constituencies. Any funds left at the end of each fiscal year shall be carried over to the next.”

John Meredith, Huntsville City Council president

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