Questions continue about funding for Port City United in wake of charges against employee
Funding for Port City United remains in jeopardy as the New Hanover County Commissioners begin budget discussions for the 2024-25 fiscal year.
During a budget work session on April 11, two commissioners – Dane Scalise and LeAnn Pierce – were adamant that they would not support continuing to fund the controversial department.
Port City United is a county-funded effort that aims to work within neighborhoods to provide connections, promote healing and help prevent violence. But it’s faced scrutiny since its inception.
The latest round of controversy comes after the suspension of Port City United’s mediation outreach program. On March 25, the unit’s supervisor, Stephen Michael Barnett, was arrested and charged with accessory after the fact to attempted murder.
According to an arrest warrant, Barnett was allegedly driving the vehicle used to take the suspect in a shooting away from the scene at the Houston Moore community.
Barnett has since been dismissed from his position, and the unit’s other employees have been placed on paid administrative leave.
Now, the commissioners are discussing how to move forward and whether Port City United should even continue to be funded.
More: Port City United faces uncertain future as leaders debate program’s effectiveness
Funding details
At the budget work session, Chief Financial Officer Eric Credle outlined the costs, which total $5.74 million, associated with Port City United.
The approximate costs for each area are:
Administration: $568,000
Mediation and outreach: $946,000
Call center: $1.1 million
Community resource coordinators: $1.3 million
Legal aid/second chance: $352,000
Technical certifications: $250,000
United Way Capacity Building: $1.2 million
Administration, mediation and outreach, and community resource coordinators are already budgeted in the working 2025 fiscal year budget, Credle said, but legal aid/second chance, technical certifications, and United Way Capacity Building are not currently in the working budget.
The administration and call center would be funded almost completely through a combination of American Rescue Plan funding and general fund through the revenue stabilization fund, Credle said.
While the working budget already includes some cost reductions for Port City United, the two main areas being discussed are the mediation and outreach unit and the community resource coordinators.
Mediation and outreach unit
The mediation and outreach unit has 10 employees and has violence interrupters who work to deescalate cases at immediate risk of violence in the community and open cases to those in the community who need extra resources.
Coudriet said the mediation and outreach branch is under review for its policies and procedures and he expects to have more information in early May.
The mediation and outreach unit has successfully intervened in 85% of 52 cases that were at immediate risk of violence, according to statistics provided by the county.
Community resource coordinators
Meanwhile, the community resource coordinators division has 22 employees who work with K-12 students that work in high-risk public schools in the county.
The coordinators provide behavioral interventions, identify root causes of low academic success, social and emotional mentoring to teach conflict resolution and communication skills to children in local schools.
School administrators were surveyed about their satisfaction with the program and 100% said that they value having the community resource coordinators in the school buildings, according to information provided by the county.
Of the 58% of parents who responded to a survey asking for input, 97% said they were satisfied with the services that coordinators provide.
But they aren’t necessarily supported by everyone in the school district.
“While perhaps it’s reported to us that the schools appreciate the attendance of these men and women, it has been made very clear to me that the school board is not necessarily supportive of these coordinators,” Coudriet said. “I’m not sure I’m in a position that I could recommend to you to continue with $1.3 million.”
Coudriet said the community resource coordinators are not being zeroed out because of what is happening with the mediation and outreach portion of Port City United.
Commissioners' reaction
Scalise said he felt the mediation and outreach portion should not be funded in the next fiscal year and that he would not vote to approve the budget if that funding is included. Pierce said the same.
“I don’t think it’s a good return on investment in many instances,” Scalise said.
Scalise said he would rather look to the private sector and nonprofit sector to explore experimental concepts and that New Hanover County should focus on funding law enforcement and education.
Coudriet said he could not let the mediation and outreach portion of Port City United take full credit for the downtrend of violence in the community with the work that law enforcement and other groups have also been doing.
Commissioner Jonathan Barfield Jr. said it’s important to recognize the work and at least take some credit for the work the mediation and outreach unit has done.
“There are things that would happen, that would’ve happened, that haven’t happened that you will never even know about because someone was there to intervene,” Barfield said. “Those are situations that I will never know about because I will never be in those spaces and those places, and neither would anyone on this board.”
As for the community resource coordinators, Barfield said, “the teachers are closest to the problem, not the school board members, and they’re telling you x, y, and z.”
Barfield said stepping back from Port City United’s mediation and outreach as well as community resource coordinators would send a different message to a specific part of the community, and he doesn’t know if the county wants to send that message.
The commissioners will continue to meet to discuss fiscal year 2025’s budget, which will start July 1. The planned budget adoption is set for June 17.
This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: New Hanover County continues to discuss Port City United funding
