Like all state agencies, the Lt. Governor’s Office took significant mid-year budget cuts and is now operating at 77% of the funding appropriated for the fiscal year that began July 1. Almost three-fourths of the $1.1 million cuts to the Lt. Governor’s Office were taken at the state level, with the remainder shared among the 10 Area Agencies on Aging. All state staff, including Lt. Governor Bauer, will take 10 days of unpaid leave. Vacant positions are being left unfilled, office space reduced to lower rent payments, and three staff were laid off.
“We are not asking for special consideration for seniors, what we are asking is to have our current level of funding maintained. Through good stewardship and being fiscally conservative we have avoided cutting services to our most vulnerable citizens for the most part – given another round of cuts though, a reduction of services will be unavoidable,” Bauer said.
Members of the sub-committee acknowledged the advances that have been made in senior services under Bauer’s leadership and indicated that they would take the impact of further cuts into consideration.
It was indicated that the $2.9 million in supplemental funds earmarked to provide in-home services for nearly 6,000 seniors could not be guaranteed in the upcoming budget. The supplemental funding reaches seniors not normally served under state and federal dollars and if the funding is not renewed in the budget, these services will end on June 30.
The proposed budget approved earlier this legislative session by the House Ways and Means Committee maintained 2009-2010 funding for the Lt. Governor’s Office on Aging at the current 77% level minus about $8,000 for cuts to travel. It did not provide for continued supplemental funding, although it contained a proviso that required the Governor’s Office to provide matching funds should any elderly nutritional program be funded under the economic stimulus.
Lt. Governor Bauer’s prepared remarks:
We have a decidedly unambitious and unaggressive wish list this year.
Our hope is to maintain service levels at what they are.
We recognize the reality of the economic downturn, and are prepared to go into next year with a 23% cut in our base.
We are re-examining our clients, ensuing that the most vulnerable are least impacted by the cuts.
We urge careful consideration of continuing our $2.9 million meals on wheels program. One $6 meal a day can provide a frail senior the strength and the balance that prevents a fall that otherwise would lead to a $25,000 hospital stay or a $50,000 nursing home bed.
Our goal continues to be to enable people to remain at home where they want to be and that cost taxpayers less money.
Nevertheless, our senior population is doubling, and feels an undue impact from the current economic situation. Many are on fixed incomes, others have lost a sizeable portion of their savings, few can return to the work place.
It seems to me that all of this presents an opportunity to think about reorganization of state government.
We ought to be thinking about restructuring more in terms of grouping agencies and programs that involve the direct delivery of services to seniors.
Right now we have several agencies procuring almost identical meals, for example, using different procurement mechanisms, and funding streams – and paying different prices for meals delivered to clients of different programs who look very much alike.
We need to think about how to save money, how to better coordinate services, how to end fragmentation and duplication.
I have asked my staff to begin working on a program to restructure the delivery of senior services from all the different agencies, and moving all deliveries of all senior services into the Office on Aging.
I believe this restructuring will accomplish two things:
1. Reduce costs, and
2. Improve the delivery of services.
I expect to have a proposal for your consideration in the very near future.
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