By Parker Leavitt | The Arizona Republic
In a protest over federal deficit spending, conservative Gilbert Town Council members are vowing to reject more than $700,000 in community development grants, a move that would affect services at a local senior center and strip funding from other non-profits.
Three council members are leading a charge against the federal funding based on political ideology and concerns over the mounting national debt. The grants are distributed by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for a broad range of programs intended to benefit low-income residents and improve the community.
“I’ve expressed concern over federal funding for quite some time,” Councilman Victor Petersen said at a meeting on April 2. “Frankly, I’d like to see an end of all that kind of funding coming to Gilbert.”
For now, Petersen is in the minority, and the council this month approved federal block grants with a 4-3 vote. But the group plans to discuss the issue further at its annual retreat in August, and a fourth council member hinted that he may pull his support of the funding next year.
