City gets headstart on search for funds

CITY HALL — After wrangling about $1.7 million in federal earmarks this year, city officials are on the starting block earlier than ever before for a process that will prioritize projects eligible for future funding.

The City Council, which last year waited until March 31 to formally send a ranked list of 25 local projects totaling about $113 million to Congress, is poised to take a more strategic approach with the lobbying firm David Turch and Associates, Deputy City Manager Justin Hess said.

Federal money has already been secured for a number of projects, including $225,000 seismic retrofits of 19 city facilities, and $500,000 for the city’s smart grid initiative, which also recently received up to $20 million in federal stimulus money.

The council expects to finalize the catalog in the coming weeks before submitting it to its congressional delegation no later than mid-January.

“What we do is we go down the list and some [projects] are better candidates for funding than others,” Councilman Dave Golonski said.

With more hands grasping for fewer dollars, Burbank has joined a growing number of cities, counties and states that have increased dependence on lobbyists as they look to Washington for assistance to ease projected budget woes.

In September, officials agreed to spend about $25,000 on consultants in an effort to track down a larger share of federal stimulus funds.

The nationwide scrum for dollars pits Burbank against cities in Maryland, Minnesota and Mississippi in a dynamic process that follows very few rules, David Turch told the City Council Tuesday.

“Things do not in Washington have to be germane,” he said.

Turch suggested the council visit the nation’s capital this winter to lobby Reps. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) and Brad Sherman (D-Sherman Oaks) before their mid-February deadlines.

The ability to position projects in different appropriation bills will help maximize the city’s chances of securing funds, city officials said.

“You’re the elected representatives of this community,” Turch said. “That you put a face on the work that we’ve done in advance . . . will really make a difference and it will differentiate you from all the other communities that are just sending in a wish list.”