Elk Grove Charity Dollars - Comply with State law or not?

At the March 27 Elk Grove City Council meeting, the city council awarded $310,000 of public monies to local 501(c)3 non-profit charities.  Many non-profits were turned away without receiving a dime. 

All 501(c)3 charities, with few exceptions, which operate within the State of California, are required to register with the California State Attorney General, Office of Charitable Trusts. 

Moreover, they are required to file reports, pay fees and maintain a current status when collecting monies in California.  It is the law.  These laws exist to protect the public and the charity from fraud.

However, last year and this, the city council not only awarded monies to charities, but sponsored charity events, that are either not registered, registered incorrectly, or were delinquent in their fees and/or filings.  One such non-profit, who received tens of thousands of dollars of taxpayer monies, received a suspension letter. 

We have very worthy charities here in Elk Grove, and they are all vying for the same precious taxpayer dollars in order to keep their charity alive.  In treating every charity fairly and equally, before they apply for any taxpayer monies, they should be required to be in full compliance with California State law.

To award monies to a non-profit that is not in compliance with State law does a disservice to all others who do comply, applied for a grant, and were turned away.  The city of Elk Grove, before cutting any checks for the next fiscal year, must require all charities be in complete compliance.

The people’s money must be protected, no matter what, and awarding monies to a non-profit in jeopardy of losing their tax exempt status is not any way to do business.

So I ask:  Should all the charities who compete for public monies be required to be in compliance with California State law, or should the council and staff just look the other way because it is one of their favorite charities?