The Shadrach Solution: Slush Fund #4 - Unspent Grant Funds
- Tom Shadrach
- 5 days ago
- 2 min read
Let's ask one simple question before we spend more money: Have we already received grant money to pay for it? I have found the answer is yes. Cape Coral has been awarded millions of dollars in state and federal grants, yet instead of fully utilizing those funds, taxpayers are still being asked to foot the bill. I don't believe residents should ever pay twice; once through their federal and state tax dollars and again through higher local taxes, fees, or assessments.
The documentation you're about to see shows examples of grant funding that has already been awarded but, in my view, has not been fully leveraged before turning back to local taxpayers. Every grant dollar left unused is another dollar that stays in your pocket only if City Hall has the discipline to use it. Government should exhaust every available outside funding source before asking a single Cape Coral family to pay more. That's not just good financial management, it's the government's obligation to the people who fund it.
The Yacht Club restroom project is one example that illustrates this problem. Rather than aggressively applying available grant dollars to reduce the local cost, taxpayers have continued to be asked to finance grandious projects that could have finished the restroom with money the City had already secured. That isn't the kind of stewardship I expect from government, and it's certainly not what taxpayers deserve. I will continue asking the hard questions, following the money, and insisting that every available grant dollar is put to work before City Hall even considers asking residents to reach into their own pockets again. Cape Coral families deserve a government that protects their tax dollars with the same care they use to manage their own household budgets.
Comments