D.C. Council members Tuesday erased a $500,000 grant for the Historical Society of Washington, D.C., from the District’s fiscal 2008 budget, a cut the group’s chief called “very serious.”

The society, which operates out of the Carnegie Library in Mount Vernon Square, collects and preserves local Washington history. It also operated the City Museum, a failed venture that opened in 2003 and closed soon afterward.

“What do they do to deserve this money?” asked Ward 8 Council Member Marion Barry, who moved to split the grant between three organizations, including an anti-violence group.

Bell Clement, the society’s executive director, said the organization’s mission is to preserve public history and the government should be in the mix. The group has a good deal of lobbying to do before June 5, she said, when the budget has its final reading.

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“It is shocking to us in a way because of course we take it as a given that the history of D.C. is precious and ought to be invested in,” Clement said.

Only Ward 6 Council Member Tommy Wells objected to the cut. Ward 1 Council Member Jim Graham said the society is “not as effective as I’d like to see them.”