By Niki Cervantes
Staff Writer

June 3, 2015 -- The head of an embattled anti-gang youth group in the Pico neighborhood said Tuesday he is willing to cede more power to the City of Santa Monica in exchange for $190,000 in funding officials are threatening to pull.

Oscar De La Torre, founder and executive director of the Pico Youth and Family Center, said he felt the organization always has been forthcoming with its financial dealings, but that he was willing to make concessions to the City so the center can remain open.

De La Torre has said the PYFC can’t afford to operate without the City funding and will shut its doors if the City Council votes later this month not to provide money.

One possible concession, he said, would be for the City to only release the funding after specific requests for spending are approved, instead of sending the money directly to the PYFC.

“We wouldn’t touch a penny,” De La Torre said. “The money never enters our bank account. The City would have more financial control and full transparency. We are willing to work with the City in partnership to keep the doors of the PYFC open.”

He said his group pays $80,000 a year alone for rent.   According to PYFC officials, the center receives most of its funding – about $240,000 – from a private grant and relies heavily on the City for the rest of its $480,000 budget.

As another concession, De La Torre said City officials could serve on the PYFC’s governing board, a past practice that would help provide the City with more oversight if resumed.

As it now stands, the City Council is deciding whether to grant funding to the organization, as it has done since the PYFC was created 13 years ago.

Councilmember Sue Himmelrich said Tuesday that she is open to negotiation, adding that there is no question in her mind the City should help the PYFC.

“I believe he (De La Torre) reaches people that no one else reaches,” she said. “We should keep the lights on.”

Still, Himmelrich said she has no idea whether anyone else on the Council is on her side. The other members were quiet during the session with PYFC supporters last Thursday, which lasted well past midnight.

“I hope I can get more support,” she said, adding that the money could come from the Council’s contingency funding, instead of the City’s grants budget.

The City's proposed grants budget is more than $8.1 million for the upcoming fiscal year.

Mayor Kevin McKeown said that in either case, the funding “still would be public taxpayer money and would have to be trackable, transparent, and accountable.”

McKeown suggested the City Council possibly could pay rent and utilities to keep the PYFC open, “given the community sentiment that PYFC services a unique purpose.

“However,” the mayor added, “at our recent hearing even the amounts of those hard costs were not yet clear, making it difficult to contemplate or quantify such funding for direct expenses.”

Councilmember Terry O’Day said he appreciates all the work the organization has done and that he regards it as important.

“I don’t know where I am with this,” he said. “I’m still listening.”

The relationship between the City and the PYFC has been strained for years, with City funding decreasing from a high of $350,000 when the center first opened, to its current request for $190,000, the same amount it received last year.

A City staff report suggested that the funding be dropped. It cited concerns about PYFC’s  administration and direction, with one report criticizing the group for diverting resources meant for  at-risk teens to “social justice and community organizing.”

Supporters made a long and emotional last-ditch appeal to the City Council last week to provide the funding. Speakers cited all the good the organization has done for the struggling low-income neighborhood, saying it gives at-risk youth direction and a safe and secure place to go.

In the end, City Council action was postponed until June 23, when a variety of other community groups seeking funding also will go before the Council for a final vote.

De la Torre dismissed concerns cited by staff that the organization is too dependent on City funding. The fact that PYFC has continued to operate effectively even as its City funding has decreased is proof that it does have some independence, he said.

“We went from $350,000 to $190,000, and we’re still here,” he said.