After much debate, the Durango City Council boosted support for the Four Corners Office for Resource Efficiency, or 4CORE, this year by $17,000 to help support its operating budget.
The council hotly debated funding the nonprofit, but ultimately decided to use money from the city’s savings to help the nonprofit. Normally, the city does not fund a nonprofit’s operating budget.
The decision was reached on the last day of budget discussions and became final on Tuesday with the approval of the 2015 budget.
In 2014, the city gave 4CORE $5,000 for operating expenses and $20,000 to help residents fund an assessment of their home’s efficiency. The nonprofit will still receive $20,000 to fund the home assessments in 2015.
4CORE was set up to help encourage sustainable use of natural resources through a collaborative process with citizens and local governments. Initially, many governments including the city and La Plata Electric Association chipped in significantly, said Kurt Schneider the interim executive director.
“Climate change impacts all of us, and it doesn’t stop at county borders,” Schneider said.
In 2007, the nonprofits business plan was written to include public funding, he said. Since then, 4CORE has brought in about $8 million in grant funds to the region to help fund projects.
However, when money was tight during the recession, 4CORE was trimmed out of many government budgets, he said. During those years, the nonprofit was receiving grants through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. This funding went toward weatherizing more than 600 homes over about three years and helped lower utility bills for those customers.
When that funding ended, the impact was dramatic and abrupt, Schneider said.
Now the nonprofit will be relying more on its original business plan and working to build other programs. The rebate program for home assessments is still available and can help pay for improvements to help make homes more efficient. Schneider also hopes to educate the public on smart but simple energy saving strategies like locking windows and replacing weather stripping around windows and doors.
The nonprofit is also looking for a new executive director to replace Gregg Dubit, who left the organization at the end of October. Schneider expects the search for a new director to ramp up at the beginning of the new year.
mshinn@durangoherald.com
