Columbia City Council could allocate 250K in savings to Job Point

The Columbia City Council decided Monday night to put on hold the allocation of a quarter of a million dollars for local nonprofit Job Point until the organization presented a detailed plan for its need of the money.

In this year’s city budget, there was more than $2 million that the city had accumulated in savings. More than a million has been allocated for a one time payment to city employees that city manager Mike Matthes said he hopes will boost morale.

Matthes suggested the rest of the money be divvied up between organizations and projects across Columbia. Included in Matthes’ suggestions was a $250,000 payment to Job Point.

Job Point is a nearly 50-year-old nonprofit established to link people and jobs by providing career planning and job placement assistance. The organization focuses on training people to be qualified for jobs like certified nursing assistants, carpenters and construction workers.

City Council members questioned the organization’s need for the money, which it said was to help it buy the building it’s currently leasing. Ward 5 councilman Matt Pitzer said the council had two major concerns.

“One was exactly how the funding would be structured so it would have to come to be some sort of services agreement where Job Point provides services in exchange for that funding,” he said. “Other questions were around Job Point coming up with a plan to raise their own capital to match what the city potentially may help them out with.”

The city’s counselor, Nancy Thompson, said the City Council could not give the organization money to buy its building. It had to provide a service to the city.

Job Point president and CEO Steve Smith said that the money would not be used to buy the building, which he said would cost about $1.2 million.

“These funds would not go directly to the purchase of the building but rather would provide services to help us with clients freeing up cash that we could then use other cash towards purchase of the building,” he said.

Smith said the council decided to give Job Point 24 months to raise its own $250,000 that the city would potentially match, and then present its case to the community development commission and City Council. City Council would make the final decision.

Pitzer said he supported the Job Point proposal, but would have liked to see some other savings be allocated towards public safety.

“That’s one of the major things you hear from citizens: public safety, growth and streets,” he said. “We don’t have any of those savings earmarked towards either of those.”

Mayor Brian Treece and Ward 3 councilman Karl Skala also said they thought savings money could be spent on street and sidewalk needs outlined in the city’s strategic plan.

Ward 2 councilman Michael Trapp said Job Point is an organization which does embody the strategic plan.

“Their mission of creating work force for living wage jobs resonates closely with the council objective to reduce poverty and reduce crime in the community,” he said. “I look at it as protecting public safety, getting people on a path, teaching them the habits of work and preparing them for skilled trades.”

Smith said that they would save money if they bought the building because of low interest rates in the housing market. He called the move “a perfect storm.”

“The more we can save, the more people we can get employed and help them climb out of poverty,” he said.

Last fiscal year, Job Point served more than 400 people and those entering employment earned an average of $10.42/hour.

According to city data, the unemployment rate in Columbia has been steadily dropping. Smith said that employers consistently reach out to them for help in providing a qualified workforce.

“It is not projecting we can do this,” he said. “We have done it.”