Nonprofits Plead Their Case to City Council

Representatives from several local nonprofits asked the city council to consider restoring funding in the .

The Gaithersburg City Council held a public hearing on the proposed budget Monday evening. If approved, the $51.7 million budget would be a 7.8 percent increase over the current 2012 budget. 

City Manager Angel Jones said the overall proposal still falls short of pre-recession levels of service.

David Williams, executive director of the Unity Christian Fellowship Youth Organization, asked the council to restore $5,000 for the organization.

"When the school bell closes at the end of the day, UCF steps up," Williams said. "There's no better investment than our young people."

Three youth members of the group also spoke on behalf of UCF. 

David Hayes, a junior at Gaithersburg High School, said Unity Christian Fellowship "opened me up to look at colleges. It got me out of the hood and become a better man. … It really helped me."

Representatives from the Spanish Catholic Center, and other local nonprofits also argued to be included in the 2013 budget. BROTHERS, a program targeting at-risk students at Gaithersburg High School, drew the largest crowd at the public hearing.

Christine Handy-Collins, principal of , asked that the council reconsider the proposal to cut funding for BROTHERS.

"This program has made a definite impact and a difference in the students that are involved," Handy-Collins said.

The Gaithersburg City Council will meet again at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday for a work session to discuss the budget.