Thirteen families of cops slain in the Sept. 11 attacks are protesting a proposed budget for the Twin Towers Fund – prompting charity officials to promise a far smaller operating budget.
The families, who sent a letter to fund executives Tuesday, say they are worried the organization, which has already raised more than $150 million, will gain a life of its own and eat up money with operating costs.
Relatives like Frank Dominguez became upset when the group filed papers with the state outlining an annual operation budget of more than $1 million.
“The best thing they can do for everyone is to just . . . let the families decide” how to use the money, said Dominguez, whose brother Jerome was an Emergency Service Unit cop killed on Sept. 11.
Dominguez said he signed the letter out of concern for his parents and his brother’s fiancée, who are the beneficiaries, not him.
“I just don’t trust them,” one cop’s widow said of fund executives. “It seems like they’re trying to make a business out of this.”
In response to the letter, Twin Towers officials told The Post the state figures were over-inflated preliminary estimates – and the real operating budget would be about $650,000 coming from a separate fund just to cover administrative costs.
Officials also said the staff would consist of only seven people, five of them full-time, although salaries for those staffers were not immediately available.
“We understand the concerns of these 13 families given some of the misinformation that has been reported by the media,” said fund deputy director Carolyn Cavicchio.
“We look forward to meeting with them and detailing the assistance we can provide to them as soon as possible.”
A source at the fund also promised that all the money would be turned over directly to the families within two or three years, and that any financial planning for either scholarships or retirement funds would be strictly voluntary.
“If people want us to give out all the money immediately, well, that’s just not a responsible way to handle something this big and this complex,” said the official.