COUNCIL ON DRUG, ALCOHOL ABUSE CERTAIN FUNDING CAN BE RESTORED The Lubbock Regional Council on Drug and Alcohol Abuse is confident it will regain the United Way funding it lost earlier in the year after an audit cited bookkeeping problems. The council, which provides substance abuse prevention and early intervention programs, operates with funding by United Way of Lubbock and the state. About $50,000, or 8 percent, of its annual budget of $800,000 comes from United Way of Lubbock. The remainder comes from state funding and other contracts. Roughly 80 percent of the state funding comes from the Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse. Because of bookkeeping errors cited in the 1999 fiscal year audit, the United Way of Lubbock board suspended funding to the council in June, said Kirk Thomas, board chairman. "What the board did was give (the council) a punch list of things we want to see before we reconsider restoring their funding," Thomas said. "We are prepared, if they meet those conditions, to reimburse them for the lost period and to move forward." Ray Coulombe, executive director of the council, said the problems stem from a bookkeeping error that combined moneys from separate funding sources as well as missing paperwork that could prove the funds actually had been spent separately. "Our audit was done very late last year, and there wasn't time to go back and find the paperwork," he said. "Since then we've found it." The council also receives funding from the Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse. Every three years the agency must compete for funding, but changes in the application process and the council's low score in the new process has jeopardized that funding. Stephanie Goodman, communications director for the state commission, said the application process "is stricter than in the past and did require additional budget information." Because the agencies that applied in this area didn't score high enough on the applications, the state commission reopened the application process, giving the agencies a chance to re-examine their applications and strengthen each area, Goodman said. The council was granted an extension that will allow it to operate while the agency resubmits its application. If the funding is restored, it will begin Nov. 1, Coulombe said. "Our agency is still solvent and we're optimistic," he said. "We're writing a very strong application. We've provided services here for 32 years, and I think our chances look pretty good to continue." Andrea Watson can be contacted at 766-8714 or awatson@lubbockonline.com
No member comments available...
|