I do recall the Town of Fishers, early in my time writing this blog, where Conner Prairie regularly came to the town and asked for financial help.  The amount each year was around $100,000 and the town regularly approved the request with little opposition.

When Fishers became a city, there was discussion about financially supporting local nonprofit groups beyond Conner Prairie.  That led to the creation of the City Council Nonprofit Committee.  The council would determine how much money was available in the city budget, look at the requests from local nonprofit groups, then decide which organizations would receive city funding and how much each would receive.

There is now a proposal on the table to dissolve the City Council Nonprofit Committee and mold nonprofit organization funding recommendations into the mayor’s annual budget request to the City Council.  Council members would still have final say over funding for the nonprofits as part of the budget process.

Some councilors say the Nonprofit Committee system has become too political.  Others want the current system to remain in place.

Councilors only need one vote to pass first reading, which happened at Tuesday night’s meeting.  The dissolution proposal for the Council’s standing Nonprofit Committee will likely be debated again before a final vote is taken.