THE Stirling Business Association (SBA) will fill the funding void left by the City of Stirling and finance the Constable Care program’s 2010-11 operations within the City’s jurisdiction.
SBA president Brian Brewer said that last week the association had decided to “pick up the tab” and contribute at least $2280 to the program.
Constable Care chief executive Vick Evans said Stirling contributed $2280 in 2009-10 and had so far committed nothing to the program for 2010-11.
He said the City was one of two local authorities not supporting the program and that without funding the program would not operate within its boundaries.
All nearby local governments have indicated financial support for the program.
City of Stirling spokeswoman Simone Holmes-Cavanagh said the City’s community services unit could decide to allocate funding, but had made no such decision.
Community services manager Chris Brereton said the City had a “finite pool to fund from” and had to prioritise its budgets because of the economic crisis.
City of Swan CEO Mike Foley said his local government authority’s 2010-11 funding allocation of $36,000 ensured Constable Care covered each of its 34 primary schools.
The City of Bayswater’s 2010-11 draft budget includes a $14,500 funding commitment and the Town of Cambridge’s draft budget specifies an allocation of $7000.
City of Joondalup mayor Troy Pickard said the City had budgeted $25,000 of program support for 2010-11.
The Town of Vincent allocated $7690 towards Constable Care for the new financial year, while the Town of Bassendean recently approved an allocation of $5000.
Mr Brewer said the committee had sent an email to all SBA members informing them of the issue and that he saw $2280 as a starting point.
He said that although the SBA’s focus was business related, it was a community organisation and many of its members were family businesses.