The City of Lathrop has $6,724 to give away. 

And they’re not quite sure who they’re going to give it to.

In what is an annual discussion, the Lathrop City Council will have to decide tonight  where they’re going to disburse the annual Community Development Block Grant funding from the Department of Housing and Urban Development – holding a public hearing for local non-profits and service groups to formally request a slice of the pie. 

This year two organizations – the Boys and Girls Club of Manteca/Lathrop, which operates a site in the community, and the City of Lathrop Youth Activity Assistance Program, which provides funding for recreation fees when families can’t financially support the burden – have requested the maximum individual distribution of $5,000 each. 

Only 15 percent of the total amount allocated to the city – Lathrop received $78,164 in CDBG funds this year – can be distributed to community groups. 

A number of options exist for the council for what to do with the money, and staff is suggesting the council distribute the money to the same organizations that benefitted last year – giving the largest share of $2,500 to the Second Harvest Food Bank, which backs a number of Lathrop programs, and giving $1,000 each to the Second Harvest Food Bank, the Emergency Stockton Food Bank and the San Joaquin County Human Service Agency’s Meals on Wheels program.

Give Every Child a Chance, which operates tutoring site locations in Lathrop, would have $1,224 allocated to them if the council adopts the city’s proposal. 

Because of the large amount requested by the Boys and Girls Club and Lathrop’s own parks and recreation scholarship program, the council would only be able to fully fund one of them at the expense of other previous recipients. According to the staff report, the city’s scholarship program provides for up to $250 to eligible children every year, and only 50 percent of their participation cost can come from the program. The Boys and Girls Club, which was moved to three different sites over the course of the last year because of ongoing construction at Lathrop Elementary School, is requesting funding from only the City of Lathrop’s CDBG distribution this year – the first time that they have asked for funding. Of the organizations wider $475,000 annual budget, a total of $72,620 is allocated to maintain the Lathrop site for the year. 

The Lathrop City Council meets on the second Monday of every month at 7 p.m. at Lathrop City Hall – located at 390 Towne Centre Drive.

For additional information, or to obtain a copy of the meeting agenda, visit www.ci.lathrop.ca.us. 

To contact reporter Jason Campbell email jcampbell@mantecabulletin.com or call 209.249.3544.