Supporters of the 4-H program and University of California
Cooperative Extension (UCCE) gathered once again at the corner of
San Benito and Fourth streets Friday afternoon, but this time to
celebrate.
Supporters of the 4-H program and University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) gathered once again at the corner of San Benito and Fourth streets Friday afternoon, but this time to celebrate.
Dressed in his green and white 4-H attire, 13-year-old D.J. Parker held a sign saying “thank you” and waved at passing cars with more than 20 others.
“We’re here to say thank you to San Benito County for helping keep 4-H alive,” he said.
All this excitement came after the San Benito County Board of Supervisors distributed a press release late Thursday night explaining it has heard the community’s concerns and will do whatever it can to not cut the programs. UCCE and 4-H are discretionary programs, meaning the county doesn’t have to fund them by law, and with a more than $4 million potential deficit, the county budget committee had the programs on a list of potential cuts. Cutting the 8 percent of funding the county contributes to these programs would have saved $70,000.
“The county is committed to providing continuing financial support to ensure the 4-H and Farm Advisors programs remain in operation,” Administrative Officer Terrence May stated in the release.
The county will not recommend elimination or withdrawal of funding for UCCE and 4-H, but May said he’s looking at a reduction in the level of county support.
As far as how much could be cut, May said, “I don’t know yet. We have a plan to work closely with (County Director of UCCE and 4-H) Pat Johns to determine … to what extent we can reduce county support to 4-H without jeopardizing its existence.”
Johns said she’s not sure what percentage of a cut the programs can take, but she’s willing to work with the board and she’s happy it’s taking the community’s concerns into consideration.
“We’re willing to help the board and work with them during this budget crisis,” Johns said. “I think the support from the community is overwhelming and truly demonstrates the importance it (UCCE and 4-H) has on the community of San Benito County.”
The programs will continue to receive funding throughout early August, when the board will hold public budget hearings and look at final recommendations. The budget considerations will not be discussed at Tuesday’s meeting, May said.
The board has been looking at solutions from past budget crises as well.
The county states that during the early ’90s, when San Benito County faced a budget crisis, it opened a community fund and residents donated money to keep the programs afloat. That’s another possibility to help out with the current situation, according to May.
“I think it went pretty well,” he said. “We had a good community response. The county did continue to provide county funding for the 4-H program and also accepted donations to augment some of the county funding that had to be cut.”
Johns said it doesn’t matter where the money comes from as long as it helps the programs stay in San Benito County.
“How the board of directors gets the funds isn’t the issue,” Johns said. “It’s the fact that we’re treated equitably.”
Linda Figone, San Juan 4-H Club Leader, said even though the board said it’s not discussing the cuts publicly until August, she plans on attending the meetings anyway.
“We need to be part of the board meetings and make sure they’re not playing games with us,” she said. “I hope they stand behind their word.”
UCCE Farm Adviser Bill Coates said his phone was ringing off the hook Friday morning and he’s excited about the board working with UCCE.
“We’re happy that we’ll be around to continue helping people,” he said. “We also wanted to thank all of the supporters because they’re the ones who have been getting the word out.”
