Salinas council pulls $100,000 Compass Church sponsorship after heated public comment

The Salinas City Council on Aug. 12 removed from that night’s agenda a request to authorize $100,000 to Compass Church to cover costs of a July 4 community fireworks event and asked staff to process the request through the city’s existing community-sponsorship policy before returning with a recommendation.

Council members pulled the item after more than an hour of public comment that included strong praise for the event’s attendance and benefits from supporters and constitutional and fiscal objections from opponents. Mayor Donahue said the church “should be applauded” for putting on a large community celebration but announced the council would not consider the sponsorship request that evening and asked staff to follow the city’s sponsorship procedures; he said formal recommendations would likely come to the council in September.

Why it matters: The proposal drew sustained public interest because it would use taxpayer dollars to underwrite an event organized by a religious institution. Citizens and organizations told the council the decision could set a…