-Budget
from page A!
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It was clear from the begin
ning of the meeting that Robin
son was not about to let the issue
go gently into the night. Instead
of saying "here" or "present"
during the aldermen roll call,
Robinson responded, "over
taxed."
Robinson moved for no con
sideration, after he and Whiton
were on the losing end of a vote
to require non-profit officials -
who were allowed to address the
board even though the budget
vote was axed - to swear, under
oath, to answer all the alder
men's questions truthfully.
"Telling the truth is not too
much to ask," Robinson said,
shortly after introducing the
motion. "For a $25 ticket, we
have people put their hands on
the Bible....We are not giving out
money in the amounts of little
tickets here."
The six other board members
- Robinson branded them "the
cover-up caucus" several times
during the meeting - and Mayor
Jack Cavanagh frowned at the
idea.
"This is not a court; we are
not going to make assumptions
that the citizens of Winston
Salem are liars," Cavanagh said.
Many agency officials who
spoke at the meeting were trying
to save sinking ships. The board's
finance committee voted last
week to cut funding for some of
the agencies.
Several people spoke on
behalf of the Coalition for Drug
Abuse Prevention, which had
requested $31,500. The finance
tommittee, though, talked about
the possibility of giving the
group only about $7,000 to help
cover its annual Project Gradua
tion event.
Maurice Horsey, the execu
tive director of the Winston
Lake YMCA, asked the city to
support his agency. The agency
had asked for $95,000, but the
finance committee voted to rec
ommend that it receive $85,000.
The finance committee talked
about cutting SciWorks'
$275,000 request by 10 percent.
The agency's executive director
asked the board not to cut fund
ing. She said that non-profits
| have been painted as the enemies
in the budget talks.
"I'm not exactly sure when
non-profits became the bad
guys," Beverly Sanford said.
Twana Wellman, the execu
tive director of Experiment in
Self Reliance, returned to City
Hall two weeks after Robinson
had publicly criticized her and a
week after the finance committee
tied on whether to grant the
agency its request of $145,200.
During the May 25 meeting in
which Robinson was silenced by
his peers, he had questioned
Wellman about using the
agency's credit card for personal
expenses and her membership to
the Piedmont Club, a local,
exclusive social spot.
ESR's board of directors has
thrown its* support behind Well
man, saying that it approved the
use of agency credit cards for
personal use by executive direc
tors as long as the agency is
reimbursed at the end of each
month.
The board also says it
approved the purchase of the
club membership so that Well
man could use it for fund-rais
ing.
Wellman once again pushed
to the board the importance of
ESR, which provides many ser
vices for the poor and the home
less, even bringing along a young
woman who has benefited from
ESR's efforts.
Near the end of her remarks,
Wellman brought up the infa
mous meeting last month.
"Our agency is an account
able agency....We have provided
you with all the information
about the agency's spending,"
Wellman told the board. "Please
consider the $145,200."
A different Wellman attended
Tuesday's meeting from the one
who stood speechless and
shocked last month as Robinson
grilled her. Wellman walked to
the podium with strides of confi
dence and with a look of deter
mination on her face. Rarely did
she flash her usual friendly smile.
Wellman's confidence level
peaked when she refused to
answer questions from Robin
son, who was the first alderman
to raise his or her hand after
Wellman finished her remarks.
Wellman told the board that
Robinson had paid ESR a visit
since the last meeting and had
interviewed ESR's board and
called several of the agency's
donors.
I- J ? *? -
ivODinson naa ampie time 10
ask any questions he may have
before the meeting, Wellman
said.
"Mr. Robinson had an oppor
tunity all week long to come to
our agency....I do not wish to
address any other questions Mr:
Robinson has," she said as sup
porters applauded.
Her stance did not sit well
with Robinson, who told the
board that it would be unbeliev
able if it supported an organiza
tion that cannot answer ques
tions about finances.
Robinson's ally was equally
outraged.
"If people are coming to the
public trove, you have to be ready
for public scrutiny," Whiton said.
Last week, Alderwoman
Vivian Burke had suggested that
ESR was singled out. She asked
the city manager's office to ques
tion other agencies along the
same lines that Robinson ques
tioned Wellman.
According to information
from the city manager's offipe,
six other agencies requesting
money from the city have mem
berships to the Piedmont Club.
But Robinson says, unlike other
agencies, ESR has no unrestrict
ed funds, meaning all money that
is donated to the agency must go
toward a specific purposie. "fhe
agency had no money to buy the
club membership, Robinson con
tends.
ESR is the only agency
requesting city money that
allows its executive director to
use credit cards for personal use,
according to the survey of the
agencies.
In letters ESR sent to alder
men; members of the board of
directors said they are willing to
take a another look at their poli
cy.
After the meeting, Robinson
denied that he singled Wellman
out for criticism. Robinson said
he scrutinized all of the agencies.
"I'm the first black alderman
in the history of Forsyth County
to have questioned funding for
Old Salem, SciWorks..., "Robin
son said "The idea that I'm pick
ing on the black woman is a lie
on its face."
Summer vacation plans and
personal commitments prevented
the board from coming to an
agreement Tuesday on a new
date to vote on the budget.
Alderwoman Joycelyn John
son said after the meeting that
she was disappointed by the
delay. She said since the budget
process started early last month,
there has been plenty of time for
aldermen to meet one-on-one
with agencies to address any
issues they may have.
"There are personality wars
going on, and we have to get past
that," Johnson said. "We have a
whole lot or other things we need
to be working on."
The board also heard from a
number of manual labor city
employees at the meeting. Some
had heard that the proposed
budget provided no money for
raises for manual laborers. But
the budget does provide raises of
up to seven percent for all city
employees, according to the city
manager. Other city workers told
the board that they were simply
underpaid for the much-needed
services they provide.
A study last month revealed
that workers in Greensboro in
the same positions sometimes
make thousands more than their <
Winston-Salem counterparts. i
"Pay us for what we are
worth....We feel that we are not
being appreciated." a mainte
nance worker told the board.
Many of the workers were ,
angry that the city was doling
out money to outside agencies
and seemingly overlooking its
own. The anger led to boldness
in many cases. One worker told
Robinson that he will challenge
him for his seat come the next
election.
Another worker chided the
board for not working together.
"I don't see unity among our
elected officials," said Curtis
McLaurin, a worker in the sani
tation department. "The city is
not being run right....It starts at
the head and trickles down."
Burke and Johnson gave them
some support, telling city offi
cials and other board members
that the issues should be looked
into.
2 MATINEES
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I Joshua Crowe// of The Garbage Company reaches for more receipts
from Daniel Harris and Unwood Thompson III of Candation Candy
Company during the trade fair.
Money
from page A3
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Joshua Crowell of The Garbage
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