City Budget for Green Programs/Jobs More than Just Lacking
Below is the email I sent to Durham’s mayor and city council members today regarding the city budget, which is scheduled to be approved on June 21. If you agree with my concerns or if you have different ones, please email the city council at Council@DurhamNC.Gov *this week* to ensure your concerns are heard before the vote.
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Dear Mayor Schewel and Durham City Council Members,
Alongside the People's Alliance, I am deeply concerned by this year's city budget's lack of new investment in green jobs, particularly for the Bionomic Educational Training Center (BETC) program and the Impaired Stream Improvement Program (ISIP). In fact, I think it is negligent of the city not to provide substantial funding for these two programs, given that:
1) The gains made by BETC training of Durham's OCS students (occupational course of study, no plans for traditional college) will undoubtedly increase their productivity and salaries, as well as those of Durham's public school teachers who implement the program at their schools [both are paid for their parts in the BETC program], thereby increasing the city's tax revenue;
2) The stormwater control measures implemented and maintained by BETC students and teachers are mostly paid for by outside funding that is generally obtained by *matching* our locality's funding, so that Durham gets many times the value of every dollar it invests in the BETC program; and the lack of local funding makes it harder to obtain outside grants, regardless of any matching requirements;
3) The projects implemented (rain gardens, cisterns, streambank restorations), which are provided at *no* charge to low-income households, reduce/eliminate flooding and runoff from residential and other properties and, therefore, reduce/eliminate damage to yards, campuses and buildings;
4) The benefits of (3) above substantially reduce Durham's contribution of polluting nutrients to our surrounding waterways, thereby enabling Durham to satisfy state and federal mandates which would otherwise result in large fines;
5) Together, the BETC and ISIP programs ensure our local waterways and drinking water sources are safe for recreation and consumption (both for humans and wildlife), which benefits everyone and mostly low-income residents who cannot afford pool memberships or bottled water.
I am pleased that the city's budget allocates $558,000 to the Durham YouthWorks program in general. However, I feel strongly that more funding should be earmarked specifically for the BETC and ISIP programs, given the above long-term benefits of these programs and the dependence of BETC on ISIP, in that a great many of the stormwater projects implemented by BETC students and teachers are made possible because of the funding the city provides for stream improvements via ISIP.
This is the win-win-win you guys are always looking for. Please don't miss the opportunity yet another year.
For more information about the BETC program, see the following articles, which I wrote for the News and Observer and the International City/County Management Association, respectively:
http://www.melissarooneywriting.com/DN_Articles/DN_5Jun2011.pdf
http://melissarooneywriting.com/DN_Articles/ICMA_BETC_Dec2014_.pdf
*** Every year, the BETC program struggles to obtain the money to pay participating teachers and students. Without this money for teacher/student labor, the BETC program will cease to exist. It has taken over a decade for the program to achieve its current state of success. Please do not neglect your ability to ensure this worthwhile program continues.
If you would like to learn more about these great Durham programs, you can contact the Durham Soil and Water Conservation District or myself directly.
Sincerely,
Melissa (Rooney)
Eno River
