NEW CUMBERLAND - A social service agency is asking for financial help from the Brooke and Hancock County commissioners until it gets promised money from the state.
Brooke Hancock Family Resource Network provides fiscal and administrative assistance for programs that assist low-income families, children, and people with substance abuse problems.
The agency, with offices in Weirton, is funded through grants from the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources, but, this year, that funding is late.
Melissa Reed, coordinator of the Weirton Family Resource Center, told Hancock County commissioners this week that the Family Resource Network may have to temporarily close its doors unless it gets help from them and their counterparts in Brooke County.
"We probably won't be able to make payroll after July," in which case nine people in the agency's central office will be laid off, Reed said.
The agency, which needs $11,000 a month to meet payroll and pay its bills, received a small increase from the state for fiscal year 2013, but that money won't be forthcoming until the second quarter. The new fiscal year started July 1.
A letter to the county commissioners attributed the state's tardiness to "financial cuts and reallocations."
Reed said the agency would like a short-term loan from both counties covering its expenses until it gets funding from the state. "As soon as we get our first-quarter funding, we could pay them back," she said.
Hancock County commissioners took the request under advisement, asking legal counsel Bill Fahey to check into the legality of the county granting such a loan. Commissioners said they will await a recommendation from Fahey.
