There are no more excuses when it comes to San Benito County’s
share of the federal funding pie. The numbers simply don’t lie.
They reflect a long-conjectured reality, that local and federal
leaders have spent too much time on the sidelines while other areas
race ahead in the dash for funding
There are no more excuses when it comes to San Benito County’s share of the federal funding pie. The numbers simply don’t lie. They reflect a long-conjectured reality, that local and federal leaders have spent too much time on the sidelines while other areas race ahead in the dash for funding.
A recent report filed through the U.S. Department of Commerce ranked California’s 58 counties from top to bottom based on how much they received in direct federal payments, and San Benito County came in last. The data was from 2009, the most recent year with the information available. For a county with higher than 20 percent unemployment and a still-stagnant housing and development sector, the report was especially disappointing.
This area needs the extra help more than most, yet we’re getting a smaller share than anyone else. It is completely absurd and rings a loud alarm bell for officials and voters.
When ranking the counties per capita – or based on how much each resident would receive – San Benito County was 58th in California for total direct payments that year. San Benito received $4,238 per person. The next-lowest county, Riverside with $5,238, obtained $1,000 more than San Benito. The average for the state was $8,535.
In other words, we got ripped off.
That 58th place ranking for total dollars is reflected when individual categories get broken down. A particularly gloomy figure shows that San Benito County also was ranked 58th, or last, when it came to grant funding with $925 per person.
That essentially means that the counties’ leaders – including those at the cities of Hollister and San Juan – performed worse at lobbying for federal assistance than anywhere else. It means that Congressman Sam Farr, whose most recent announcement of a major federal funding allocation was in King City on Monday for the opening of a forest service district office, focused the least amount of his attention on San Benito County compared with others in the district, other counties with relatively far fewer economic problems than this area.
It is, however, a positive sign to see Farr in town Tuesday for a scheduled roundtable with San Benito County’s leaders regarding their efforts to receive federal funding. The meeting, what sounds like a tutorial, is precisely what the doctor ordered.
Still, it is just a meeting. Local government and nonprofit leaders must take what they learn and get a lot more proactive in their approaches toward seeking federal funds. And maybe one day in the near future, Congressman Farr will hold one of those fancy events celebrating a major, federally funded endeavor in San Benito County.
