The New Hanover Community Justice Center is a network of law enforcement, nonprofits, and social service providers aimed at helping victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, child abuse, and more. Created with a roughly $5 million grant from The Endowment, and run by former District Attorney Ben David, the CJC operates out of The Harrelson Center, a hub for nonprofits that offer help with a host of things, including housing and healthcare.
The Film Partnership of North Carolina is an economic development organization focused on growing the film and television industry in the state. President Susi Hamilton is a former state representative who later served in Governor Roy Cooper’s administration. The Film Partnership does a lot of work providing training opportunities for North Carolinians looking to break into the film industry.
Both organizations submitted written funding requests during the city’s budget process, but council members pushed off making a decision. According to city manager Becky Hawke, they wanted to see how much money the organizations would get from the state and the county.
As David has publicly noted, The Endowment's grant runs out at the end of this calendar year. Endowment officials have declined to say publicly whether they will provide additioanl funding. In the meantime the CJC has received money from both the county and the state.
The film partnership received money from New Hanover County for this fiscal year. Back in 2023, it earned a $500,000 grant from the state. The grant recently wrapped up. As it stands now, all the state’s film grants are fully funded, meaning there’s no more money to give out to new productions. State officials say it's unlikely any additional state film grant funding will be made available within the next two years.
At the Tuesday meeting, Hawke said the city could allocate money from a few places. For the New Hanover County Community Justice Center, city officials could direct the organization to apply for the human services grant program, or work out a leasing agreement where the city entities renting space in the justice center would pay higher rates.
The Wilmington Police Department currently pays $17.08 per year to keep office space in the CJC (which Hawke called a “heck of a deal”). Hawke says the most money the city could offer through a lease agreement is $13,385.
For both organizations, Hawke says money could come out of the city’s $100,000 contingency fund. That’s money set aside to cover any unforeseen costs during the fiscal year. The current fiscal year started on July 1.
The Film Partnership of North Carolina could be directed to apply for a civic development partner agency’s development program grant. However, that grant operates on a 3-year funding cycle. The next time money will be available from that grant is in July of 2029.
There’s also a specific contingency fund for economic development. That pool of money has $135,000. The film partnership also received $400,000 from the city in the past, but Hawke made it clear that was a one-time deal.
During discussion, council members had split opinions. David Joyner and JC Lyle said they felt the city had stalled on a decision for too long. They supported giving the organizations the $100,000 they asked for. However, Joyner also said, “We don’t need to be too polite to say no to people. If the answer is no, the answer is no.”
Councilmember Salette Andrews raised concerns about using contingency funds. She said, “Contingency funding should generally be reserved for unforeseen or one-time needs, not ongoing operating expenses.” She also said she thinks it’s too early to drain the fund.
Multiple council members asked for more data to help make a decision. Mayor Pro Tempore Kevin Spears said, “I don’t know how you could come to a governing body and ask for funds and not provide any data.” Council member Chakema Clinton-Quintana said if the city made a decision without more information, it could look like favoritism.
Hamilton and David addressed city officials on behalf of their organizations.
According to Hamilton and David, they were not asked to provide any detailed data for Tuesday’s discussion. Still, both say they have provided the city with detailed information in the past. According to Hamilton, the film partnership engaged in weekly reporting to the city when it received its past $400,000 grant.
Hamilton also said the city was unclear about their funding options in the past. She said, “I went to the city a year or so ago and asked what the process would be for us to apply for additional funding, and I was told there wasn’t one. So, we’ve been kind of left in limbo trying to figure out what the process is. If we have to wait another two years to be in the economic development process, that’ll be a huge hardship to the organization.”
David said he submitted a written request with numbers that were not reflected in the city manager’s presentation. He said, “The lease plus the operating budget is roughly $400,000. The county has come in for 300, and we need another 100. If you look at the shared space that we have and the caseloads, you would be in for ¼ of that as the City of Wilmington.” Hawke’s lease agreement proposal offered a maximum of $13,385.
Becky Hawke addressed some of the confusion around data reporting. She said unsolicited requests don’t come with a standard process to follow when taking information to the city council. Hawke also said the city is reworking its grant framework, and that within the next six weeks grant requirements could change and the city could need different or additional information from the organizations.
The council will revisit the requests when they receive more data in writing. Then, council members will consider what amount of money they’d be willing to put to a vote.