NEW PHILADELPHIA Council has given its support to a proposal by Law Director Marvin Fete to seek a grant to fund a victims advocate for the city.
On Monday, members approved a resolution supporting the grant application and an ordinance setting aside money to pay for the city's share of the cost to fund the position.
New Philadelphia is applying for the Victims of Crime Grant to pay for a victims advocate. The deadline to apply is June 28.
Auditor Beth Gundy has estimated that it would take $55,314 to fund the position, which would include salary and benefits. Under the requirements of the grant, the city would have to fund 20 percent, or $11,062.
Council would divert money going into the New Philadelphia Municipal Court's CILOCS (Contributions in Lieu of Community Service) Fund to come up with its share. CILOCS is a program where offenders can pay money rather than perform community service. The money collected goes to the city, but council passed an ordinance in 2016 earmarking it for use by the court.
Gundy had told Fete that there was absolutely no money available in the general fund to pay for a victims advocate.
Municipal Court Judge Nanette DeGarmo VonAllman was present for council's Salary Committee to discuss the issue.
She expressed her support for a victims advocate.
"We desperately need a victims advocate," she said. "We are probably one of the few courts in the state of Ohio that does not have a victims advocate."
But she was not pleased that city officials were considering using CILOCS money to pay for it.
"CILOCS is not the goose that laid the gold egg," the judge said. "In fact, CILOCS is currently running in the red, but I think we're going to fix that because we're only five months into the year, and we've paid $30,000 in repair projects out of that."
She said it would be in the black by the end of the year.
The court has used CILOCS money to pay for $108,000 in repairs to the municipal court building for floor coverings and to replace lighting, she said.
VonAllman said she wouldn't oppose using the money for a victims advocate, but at some point the court "will have to push back" at requests by the city to use CILOCS for other purposes.
Reach Jon at 330-364-8415 or at jon.baker@timesreporter.com.
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