The Evanston City Council likely will reduce funding to social service agencies because of the city’s projected budget deficit, aldermen said Monday.

The city faces a $3.7 million budget deficit this year. Ald. Gene Feldman (9th) said at a Health and Human Services committee meeting Monday night that he expects this to cause a reduction in the Community Purchased Services Funding, which provides the agencies’ subsidies.

“If you don’t have it to give, you can’t give,” Feldman said.

The committee deferred recommending city funds for specific organizations until Dec. 10, after City Manager Roger Crum presents his budget proposal to the council. Crum will recommend how much money the city should provide for Community Purchased Services Funding.

Crum said the city’s budget deficit forces him to “deal out pieces from a pie that’s too small.”

Jay Terry, director of Health and Human Services, said the committee can delegate funds by either prioritizing the benefits of each organization or by ranking the organizations that can afford cuts.

At the meeting, the committee discussed cutting the funding of several agencies, including Childcare Network of Evanston, North Shore Senior Center, the Youth Job Center of Evanston, Inc. and Better Existence with HIV.

BEHIV serves people who have or are at risk for HIV or AIDS. According to a memo written by Terry, BEHIV asked for renewal of its current allocation of $20,000, which represents 1 percent of its $1.7 million budget.

Ald. Arthur Newman (1st) said he questioned if the small percentage of funding was significant. He said he considers BEHIV a “model organization,” but that the agency should withdraw its request for funding.

Terry’s memo, which profiled various agencies, mentioned a decrease in the number of people BEHIV served in the past year. Newman said this indicated a “partial victory” in Evanston against HIV and called for a re-evaluation of funding.

“Out of love for Evanston, say ‘We don’t need your money,'” Newman said.

John Ames, executive director of BEHIV, said the memo was misleading because it only counts people who use “traditional” services such as death and dying counseling and art therapy used at the beginning of the disease.

But as the disease has changed, the people needing help have changed as well, Ames said. Fewer people in Evanston need these traditional services, but more need prevention services. Money from this particular fund finances BEHIV’s traditional services, so people using other services are not accounted for, Ames said.

Newman asked Ames when BEHIV will stop asking for city funding.

“We will stop when the Centers for Disease Control (and Prevention) begin to give money available to towns like Evanston,” Ames replied.

Currently, the center’s grant to the agency only can be used in Chicago.

Ald. Ann Rainey (8th) said she was concerned with the spending of BEHIV and other organizations.

“If you ask for money you should justify it,” she said.

Rainey objected to BEHIV’s increased rent – five times greater than last year’s rate. Ames said the organization moved to a new location in downtown Evanston to stay close to its clients.

Rainey also questioned the organization’s choice to provide free AIDS testing to Northwestern students, even though the university does not fund the agency or pay property taxes.

“We’re serving a community,” Ames said. “We see Northwestern as part of Evanston.”

BEHIV provides services otherwise not available in the city, Ames said.

Feldman said all of the Evanston agencies applying for funding are good organizations and that people are in need of their services, but the council must make a difficult decision.

“They have to do what they have to do, and we have to do what we have to do,” Feldman said. “They have to respect the outcome.”

This outcome likely will include cuts in funding, Newman said.

“The only way one can make up (the budget) gap is to reduce spending or raise taxes,” he said.