With City Budget Hearings Set to Begin, Several Points of Funding Contention

The proposed preliminary budget contains $1 billion in new spending, but elected officials and nonprofit groups have identified a number of priorities they would like to see funded in the next fiscal year. Certain budget requests have even persisted from last year, for instance nonprofit human services organizations that contract with the city are calling for increased funding yet again, and Council members are pushing for full funding for the Summer Youth Employment program. A closer look at those and several other points of significant funding debate…