NYC City Council Overhauls Process for Nonprofit Earmarks

The New York City Council is set to approve a plan Wednesday for spending $50-million in discretionary grants to community organizations under a reformed process in which all council members get generally equal amounts to hand out, writes The Wall Street Journal.

Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito gave up the authority held by her predecessor, Christine Quinn, to set each lawmaker’s share of “member items,” a power some contended Ms. Quinn used to mete out political punishment and rewards. Under the new rules, each member receives a base of $400,000 and can get up to $100,000 more based on the level of poverty in his or her district.

Mayor Bill de Blasio has called for abolishing the practice of allowing council members to handpick nonprofit groups to get city grants, but praised the rule changes, saying last week that they made the process “much more transparent” and “cognizant of the actual needs of each district.”