Commissioner Murman quoted in this Tribune article on the Family Justice Center:
Hillsborough commissioners deny funding for Family Justice Center
Mike Salinero | Tribune Staff
August 21, 2013
TAMPA — The Family Justice Center, a nonprofit agency that helped victims of domestic violence, failed to get emergency funding from the Hillsborough County Commission today following a scathing county audit.
Instead, commissioners decided to keep the $100,000 requested by the center, and reallocate it later to some other services for domestic violence victims.
“We are not abandoning domestic violence victims at this board; we want to help,” said Commissioner Sandy Murman, who asked for the audit.
Murman said domestic violence continues to be a “rampant siuation.”
Commissioners made the decision after hearing a synopsis of the audit from Tom Fesler, director of business and support services.
Fesler said the Family Justice Center had maxed out a $50,000 line of credit and used it for operating expenses. The agency currently has no employees, he said.
The agency was rocked when the Children’s Board of Hillsborough County cut the center’s funding by half, to $300,000. Since then, the agency had been surviving on borrowed money.
“When they received notice of the reduced funding from the Children’s Board, we expected to see cost-cutting measures or some additional efforts to provide added revenue,” Fesler said. “While we did see some cost-cutting, it was not significant enough to survive into the future.”
Fesler said the center has a “very large lease” for space at the Floriland Mall that consumed 35 percent of the agency’s budget. The Children’s Board has agreed to increase funding to other agencies that will try fill any gap left by the Family Justice Center’s closing.
“I think the bottom line today, the important thing the report points out is that the service gaps have been filled from our standpoint,” Fesler said.
The Family Justice Center had acted as a clearinghouse, connecting domestic violence victims with needed services, as well as assessing the danger the victims faced and counseling them. Opening in 2006 as part of a federal program, the agency had helped 80 to 90 women a month get protective injunctions against abusive spouses or other family members.
Nikki Daniels, executive director of the Family Justice Center, could not be reached for comment.
Commissioner Kevin Beckner asked County Administrator Mike Merrill to have county staff bring back options for reappropriating the $100,000 in a way that would address domestic violence. Beckner said the Family Justice Center had done good work, but was unsustainable financially.
“I would strongly encourage them to reorganize and come up with a future plan to compete (for funding) again,” Beckner said.
