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Turning Point failed to apply for the funds by the Oct. 1 deadline. A request from the shelter organization asking the commission to reconsider wasn't received until Monday, a day later than the second deadline.
"The economy is bad so the people need it," Presiding Commissioner Arden Engelage said. "The money needs to go to them. That is what it was designed to do. I just really hate that they missed the deadline like they did. I think they need to take things more to heart. We are bending over to do this for them."
Joyce Karrenbrock, Turning Point executive director, took full blame for her organization failing to apply for funding by the proper deadlines.
"I just missed it," she told The Record. "I had other things going on."
Turning Point has an annual budget of around $300,000, according to Karrenbrock. The nonprofit corporation employs 14 people and runs two buildings at the shelter.
The shelter can house up to 25 women and their children. Other services offered include providing information on legal services, counseling, and support group sessions.
Once Turing Point officials learned they missed the initial deadline, a letter dated Nov. 10 was sent from Karrenbrock requesting the county commissioners to re-evaluate the funding dilemma. In the letter, Karrenbrock mentioned the shelter has a small budget compared to the number of clients and services it offers. Concerns were raised about the present economic downturn, the lack of jobs and a 6 percent reduction in state grant funding.
Karrenbrock also stated the loss of the funds "could have a devastating effect" on the shelter's efforts to help battered women.
Turning Point receives the projected $12,000 in one lump sum when the commission approves the budget, usually around late January or early February.
Commissioners discussed refusing the request, then relented since the money would sit unused for a year and then be available on top of next year's share.
Engelage stated this was the second time he could remember Turning Point failing to meet the deadline in his 13 years serving as a commissioner.
"We have to weigh the needs of the people versus one or two people in an office making mistakes," Northern District Commissioner Dan Hampson said. The commissioners acknowledged their uneasiness about not following state statutes in this case.
"My biggest thing is we're sworn in to uphold the Constitution and the Missouri statutes," Engelage said. "We're going against the statutes. But I hate to have (the money) sit there for the whole year when it can be utilized."
As Monday's vote was being made, the commission emphasized that this was a one-year exception for Turning Point. They plan on meeting with Karrenbrock and other Turning Point officials before the money changes hands.
"The people that need the money are not the ones that messed up," Southern District Commissioner Hubie Kluesner said. "It's very frustrating for these people to not have the ability to do what we asked them. After they made the mistake they didn't come forward and try to correct it."
