Direction of council's cuts angers Rocky

Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson is angry with some City Council members after the council took a shot last week at one of the mayor's pet programs, YouthCity.

Anderson is fuming because the council has taken away one of his grant writers, who had successfully gained $80,000 for the city's YouthCity program.

"It's beyond my wildest imagination," Anderson said. "People need to know about this hostility on the part of so many City Council members against doing good things for the kids of this community."

Losing the grant writer will hit YouthCity hard, since the program survives largely on federal and private grants with the city kicking in only $150,000 annually for programs. Anderson blames the lack of local support on some council members who have shied from giving full blessing to YouthCity. Cutting the grant writer is further evidence, he says.

The charge to eliminate the grant writer was led by Councilwoman Nancy Saxton, who has also asked for an audit to discover if a disproportionate amount of the city's grants ask for YouthCity funds while forsaking other important needs like housing. It's a concern of other council members as well.

"I would like to see our grant writers write a broader range of grants," council vice-chair Jill Love said. "They write grants that are a priority to the mayor but I wish they were a broader scope."

Still, Love was the lone council member to express a desire to keep the grant writer. Love figures the $36,000 of Community Development Block Grant money that paid 80 percent of the grant writer's salary is worth it, since grant writers bring in well more than that. In fact, this particular position has raised $80,000 for YouthCity alone.

But after Saxton spoke against using CDBG funding for the third grant writer that often writes grants for YouthCity, other council members agreed that CDBG funds could be more wisely spent.

"I was stunned," Anderson said. "She's expressed her hostility for youth programs from day one."

The mayor also criticized council chair Carlton Christensen, who he said along with Saxton has been anti-YouthCity.

Christensen and Saxton say they are not necessarily against YouthCity, however, they say, it is not one of the city's most important functions. Basic funding requirements like garbage collection, snow removal, capital improvements and other historical city functions take precedent, especially in lean budget years.