The City Council at the Tuesday, Sept. 17 work session once again discussed the funding for nonprofit organizations.

This City Council meets less to conduct the city’s business than any City Council in the past 30 years. It also holds fewer actual work sessions where the councilmembers receive information and then discuss in some detail the business of running the city.

The City Council barely had any input into the $566 million budget, most of the little input it did have was to award more money to nonprofits the city councilmembers like.

So it was almost shocking when, at the work session on Tuesday, Sept. 17, the City Council launched into yet another discussion about funding nonprofits in the area of economic development.

Councilmember Justin Outling questioned why Triad Local First had not received funding. He said, “Their mission and what they do falls into the economic development category.”

Outling said the city was funding services it should not be funding in place of funding services like economic development that it should.

Outling also said, “Personally, I’m not thrilled about paying for lobbyists to lobby us.” He didn’t elaborate on exactly which nonprofit he was referring to.

Councilmember Marikay Abuzuaiter questioned the $300,000 that the city awarded to Piedmont Business Capital Loan Fund. She said she thought the money was for loans for small businesses and $90,000 was not being loaned out but was being spent on administration.

City Manager David Parrish suggested the City Council receive more information about how the organizations it funds were spending those funds.

Perhaps to end the discussion, Councilmember Yvonne Johnson asked, “Has there been any thought as to what we will do with the closed landfill.”

At that, the work session, which began shortly after 4 p.m., was adjourned at 4:39 p.m.