By JEFF TESTERMAN, Times Staff Writer © St. Petersburg Times published April 30, 2002

TAMPA -- A handful of protesters rallied Monday against an expected move by the county to cut funding for HIV programs run by the troubled Tampa-Hillsborough Action Plan.

The county has annually allocated about $900,000 in federal aid to THAP for housing, transportation and case management assistance for some 800 residents with HIV. But after the nonprofit agency became embroiled in two federal investigations and missed deadlines to submit audits, the county decided to rebid the HIV contracts.

Protesters with placards at the county building said they were upset the contracts will likely be taken from THAP, which has a minority board, and diverted to agencies not specifically run by or for blacks and Hispanics.

"I don't think another agency can deal with minority problems as well," said Jerome Clark, 44, a THAP client and one of the protest organizers. "THAP has been like a family to me in helping to deal with this struggle."

In March, Hillsborough commissioners agreed to continue funding with THAP on a monthly basis to assure no interruption of service to HIV clients. But the county staff has recommended other providers get most of the contracts beginning in May or June.

Michael Ruppal, a THAP official who oversees a 32-unit rental complex for people affected by HIV, said some clients see the funding change as a white vs. black issue.

"Only THAP will go into certain ZIP codes for outreach because the neighborhoods are too tough," he said. "I do see people who are taking this (funding change) very hard and see it in racial terms."

But Commissioner Ronda Storms, singled out by the protest group as racially insensitive, denied the county's actions were racially motivated.

"The bottom line is that there are other organizations that can meet the contracts, and it doesn't have anything to do with being minority," Storms said. "We cannot jeopardize our federal funding by giving contracts to a nonprofit that does not meet contractual obligations with audit requirements."