Commissioners To Fund Two New Nonprofits, See List of Special Allocations for 2015-16

By Jesse Wood

After combing through the budget during its retreat this week, the Watauga County Board of Commissioners agreed to fund two other nonprofits that didn’t receive a special appropriation in the recommended budget.

The Children’s Council will receive $1,500 and W.A.M.Y Communities in Action will receive $2,500 if the appropriations don’t change when the commissioners officially vote on the budget in the coming weeks, according to Watauga County Finance Director Margaret Pierce.

W.A.M.Y is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. Pierce said that the $2,500 amount represents $50 for every year the organization has operated in the communities of Watauga, Avery, Mitchell and Yancey (W.A.M.Y) counties.

The budget for the extra $4,000 to these two nonprofits was balanced with the commissioners declining to accept a cost-of-living adjustment, which totaled about $1,200, and adding the remainder to miscellaneous revenue, according to Pierce.

Special appropriations in the $44,588,206 budget now total $177,300 for local nonprofits, which doesn’t include the amounts for “other outside agency funding” listed below.

Other allocations that are different than in the past include $10,000 each to the Appalachian Theatre of the High Country, which is restoring the old theatre on King Street, and the Hospitality House, which operates a homeless shelter and kitchen.

Also, the Southern Appalachian Historical Association, which produces “Horn in the West” outdoor drama and the Hickory Ridge Living History Museum, is slotted an additional $10,000 next year to bring its total potential allocation from the county to $22,000.

While the commissioners gave initial approval (with minor changes) for all of the allocations and the entire recommended budget, the board will hold a public hearing on the proposed. After listening to citizen’s comments, the commissioners will have a final chance to amend the budget before adopting the 2015-16 fiscal year budget.

See a list of all of the allocations below. Note that the spreadsheet below doesn’t include the additional appropriations to The Children’s Council and W.A.M.Y.

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other funding