Council discusses nonprofit contributions, tentatively keeps Port Royal Foundation at $60,000

At a June 5 budget workshop, the Chair and council reviewed the council legislative budget and discussed how to allocate the projects and contributions line, signaling support to keep the Port Royal Foundation at $60,000 while exploring a conditional dollar-for-dollar match if the foundation secures outside fundraising.

The Chair said the Port Royal Foundation had requested more than the $60,000 level in the draft budget — "I think they asked for 90,000" — and proposed holding the town allocation at $60,000 with a proposal that "if you raise $10,000, we'll get you another $10,000," a matching approach intended to leverage private fundraising, the Chair said.

Staff had earlier explained the projects and contributions line is discretionary, typically covering the town's annual grants and event underwritings, and that the current line sits at roughly $120,000. Council and staff enumerated recipients and approximate recent amounts mentioned in the workshop: roughly $56,000 allocated last year to the Port Royal Foundation, $40,000 for the economic development corporation, $15,000 to the Military Enhancement Corporation (MEC), and smaller annual contributions for the South Coast Cyber Center and the John Parker event. The staff cautioned that any increase would require offsetting reductions elsewhere because the draft budget is balanced.

Several council members pressed for safeguards and accountability. One council member said, "any money that we give to any organization is for the organization and not for any kind of employee salaries or bonuses," and urged clearer reporting from recipients. The Chair and others proposed asking recipients for periodic reports (for example, a six-month update) to document how town funds are used and what additional revenue recipients raise.

The council also discussed ATAX (tourism) funds in the same line: staff said $10,000 had been allocated and about $2,500 had been distributed to date, leaving roughly $7,500 available in that allocation cycle.

No formal vote was taken; multiple speakers emphasized the session was for input only and that allocations would be revisited in future meetings. The Chair said staff would incorporate council feedback into the draft and that changes would require rebalancing the budget if additional expenditures were included.