A local charity has kicked a $4,000 check back to Hamilton County amid concerns about the legality of the donation.
The Harrison Ruritan Club gave the donation, comprised of four individual contributions from county commissioners’ travel and discretionary funds, back to the county, citing concerns about the propriety of the September donation.
David Cox, vice president of the club’s executive board, told the Times Free Press Tuesday that they “didn’t feel comfortable” taking the money because of the club’s lack of involvement in the Snack Pack program, a food donation program through East Brainerd Church of Christ.
“It was a misunderstanding. [The commissioners] thought we were involved with the Snack Pack program,” Cox said Tuesday. “We decided that it was best that we returned those donations back to the county because that’s not our program.”
The donations were made by individual resolution in response to an August presentation to the commission that detailed the Snack Pack program, which is in its sixth year with a budget of $160,000, all of which comes from fundraising.