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Q&A
MOIA's approach to requesting additional funding for legal services
2:08:48
·
86 sec
Council Member Avilés questions MOIA's approach to requesting additional funding for legal services, specifically for the Rapid Response Legal Collaborative. Commissioner Castro explains the ongoing nature of budget discussions with OMB and City Hall.
- MOIA has not formally requested additional funding for the Rapid Response Legal Collaborative from OMB for the next fiscal year
- The agency is in ongoing conversations with OMB and City Hall to discuss community needs
- Commissioner Castro emphasizes that the needs are tremendous and that MOIA is ready to work with any entity that has resources to provide support
- Council Member Avilés expresses frustration with the lack of explicit funding requests from MOIA
Alexa Avilés
2:08:48
I'm gonna ask you this because I have to.
2:08:51
Know the answer, and it's gonna be disappointing.
2:08:54
Have you formally requested additional funding for response legal collaborative from OMB in the next fiscal year?
Manuel Castro
2:09:03
Again, we're No.
2:09:05
We're in an ongoing conversation which means that we are expressing the amount of need for these services.
Alexa Avilés
2:09:15
This is also going to drive me crazy, but I have to ask for the record.
2:09:18
Why do you not ask for double funding, triple funding?
2:09:23
Why isn't that an explicit ask that you are fighting really hard to do outside of having ongoing conversations about whatever is going to happen?
Manuel Castro
2:09:35
Again, the process that we engage with to discuss the needs in the community has just begun with OMB and city hall, and that will continue to happen throughout the next couple of months.
2:09:55
And as I stated here in this hearing clearly that the the needs are tremendous, and we're ready to work with whoever has the resources that we can use to provide the supports that communities need.
Alexa Avilés
2:10:10
With that, I'll turn it over to council member Ressner.
2:10:13
Thank