FARMINGTON – Franklin County Commissioners and representatives from the town of Farmington discussed Tuesday whether social service groups should request funding at the municipal or the county level.

In the end, it was decided that no action should be taken until more municipal officials had a chance to voice their opinions on the issue.

Steve Bunker, a Farmington selectmen, had brought the proposal to commissioners, saying it would make it easier, and more efficient, for agencies to only make one presentation before the county asking for funds, instead of traveling from one end of the county to the other, making funding request presentations.

Because many of the agencies that request funding from towns, like the Sexual Assault Victims Emergency Services or the Abused Women’s Advocacy Project, serve residents county-wide, it would make more sense for them to make a one-stop appeal before commissioners for funds, he said.

That way, Bunker said, the funding would be equitable and one town wouldn’t pick up the “slack” for another. “There is inequity on how generous or conservative it is from town to town,” he told commissioners, adding that because the agencies serve people county-wide, they should be funded by the county.

Commissioner Gary McGrane was skeptical of the proposal, saying he needed a letter of commitment from the majority of the agencies saying they would only approach the county for funding. McGrane also wanted to make sure the majority of the towns were in favor of the changeover.

His own town of Jay, McGrane said, wants to be able to decide how much to fund area agencies locally.

Commissioner Fred Hardy agreed, citing a survey compiled by the county several years ago that found that the majority of town officials wanted local control when allotting funds to non-profits.

“We really need to hear from the other towns,” he said. “If more of the outside towns wanted it, I would be in favor of this. There is no question this would be an efficient thing to do. I am just uncomfortable doing it without the support of the majority of the towns.”

No action was taken on the issue, and McGrane said he would be happy to consider funding requests from agencies in September. If the requests didn’t pass at the county-level, there would be enough time then for agencies to approach towns in time for annual town meeting season in April, May and June.

Janine Winn, executive director of SAVES, said she is 100 percent behind seeking funds from the county, instead of making her pitch town by town, mainly because the switch would be “advantageous to smaller towns.” Just under 4 percent, or $11,000 of the $300,000 SAVES annual budget, comes from municipal donations.

Over the years, municipal funding is up though, she said. “The support has definitely been growing. People are starting to really see the value in the work we do.”

Winn added when some towns vote not to contribute to SAVES because they don’t feel their residents use the services, it puts more of a burden on other towns. It’s like ambulance service, she said, “You hope you never need it, but you want it there for you if you do.”

“Our municipal campaign is wonderful,” she said. “But it takes a lot of time. Everyone in the county should have to share the responsibility equally for services that are important for everyone.”

sdepoy@sunjournal.com