PUBLIC HEARING TESTIMONY
FY 2006 PRELIMINARY CITY BUDGET
FEBRUARY 10, 2005

Council of Senior Centers and Services (CSCS) is the central organization in New York City representing 265 member agencies providing community-based services for 300,000 older New Yorkers. Services include: multi-service senior centers, meals-on-wheels, transportation, case management, home care, NORCs, adult day services, housing, legal services, assistance for immigrants, ESL, mental health counseling, computerized benefits program, entitlements and benefits counseling, intergenerational programs, caregiving services, and opportunities for volunteerism. We appreciate your office’s strong support of senior services. Thank you for the opportunity to testify today.

This testimony will cover the following main areas:

• Mayor Bloomberg’s FY2006 preliminary plan for DFTA

• “Senior Options” - Bronx Meals-on-Wheels program

• COLA increases for aging services staff

• CSCS infrastructure survey, “More with Less Is Impossible”

• Unmet needs of seniors

Mayor Bloomberg’s FY2006 preliminary plan for DFTA –

As in previous years, Mayor Bloomberg’s FY2006 preliminary plan eliminates Borough President funding and other critical funding:

What is being cut: Total Cut - $11.6 million

• $2.4 million – Borough President discretionary funds

• $4.1 million – Borough President funds added in FY05 for one year not baselined to automatically reoccur in FY 06

• $1.8 million – City Council discretionary funds

• $1.3 million – City Council funds added in FY05 for one year not baselined to automatically reoccur in FY 06

• $1.7 million – weekend meals

• $335,000 – ESL programs in senior centers

(There is $1 million of BP funds unaccounted for in the preliminary budget.)

What is being restored:

• $1.85 million – extended services contracts

Each year, Borough Presidents and Councilmembers allocate funds to senior centers and other senior service programs which pay for core operating costs as DFTA does not fully fund the programs to keep pace with inflation. 

In a January 28th memo, Commissioner Ed Mendez-Santiago refers to a 
$2.4 million cut of miscellaneous discretionary funds as “formerly Borough Presidents’ money”. This continues an ongoing debate about who controls this funding. CSCS and its membership agencies are clear that this money should remain in the budgets of Borough Presidents for them to decide the priorities of their borough. It has been unclear from the start how DFTA justifies that any of this money should be within their control.

Additionally, we urge Mayor Bloomberg to baseline funding for weekend meals and ESL classes at senior centers so seniors don’t have to advocate for the same funding each year which takes a tremendous amount of energy and does not allow senior service organizations to move ahead to provide additional needed services.

DFTA Restructuring and Streamlining - $8 million PEG:
Seeking to save money through the restructuring of home-delivered meals, DFTA has implemented a pilot program in the Bronx to utilize frozen meals and consolidate contracts (originally intended to operate citywide). This $8 million PEG, or reduction goal, was restored in FY’05 because savings could not be achieved. We expect this money to be fully restored again in FY’06. However, we must remain vigilant in monitoring the Bronx “Senior Options” program as well as ensuring that the city does not implement this $8 million cut to meals in the future by taking the “Senior Options” program citywide. The quality of the “Senior Options” program for homebound seniors and whether or not it is saving the city money remains unclear.

COLA Increase for Aging Services Workers:
Workers in senior centers, meals-on-wheels programs, NORCs, adult day services, and other senior services have not receive a salary increase since April, 1999 – six years. This situation has made it difficult to recruit and retain staff with a large turnover rate of staff each year. While enjoying their jobs staff cannot afford to stay in their positions. This also impacts continuity of care for seniors.

CSCS Infrastructure Survey Report – “MORE WITH LESS IS IMPOSSIBLE” 
(full report – www.cscs-ny.org)

On January 14, 2005, CSCS released its survey of the infrastructure needs of senior centers, NORCs, adult day services and case management agencies. A large number of programs, 175, sponsored to the survey. There has been no inflationary cost funding added to these budgets for fixed operating costs since April, 1999. While no senior center may be closed, no new money translates into less capacity to serve seniors. The CPI indicates that inflation since that time has been15 % - this means that the average senior center budget of $350,000 has lost $50,000 in purchasing power. Obviously, this is a substantial loss. Highlights of the report are:

• “More with less is impossible” – Despite all cost-cutting, moving funds around and fundraising, senior centers and other aging services agencies lack sufficient dollars to meet the needs of seniors.

• Increased costs in – food, office supplies, paper goods, teachers for classes, personnel, rent, vehicle insurance and other costs.

• Increased costs impact the services programs provide – almost half reported cutting educational, cultural and recreational programs to meet increased costs.

• Over half the programs responding reported meeting increased costs by cutting funds from another part of the budget such as staff and programs.

• Almost 70% of the respondents used Borough President, City Council or other discretionary funds to meet increased costs to their budget.

• Renovation needs: bathroom repairs, sewage back up, handicapped accessibility, painting, heating and proper lighting.

Eroding budgets of senior centers and other senior service organizations is not an appropriate response to the compelling demographics in front of us – the over 75 and 85 age groups growing rapidly and the baby boomers reaching age 60 soon. Lack of sufficient programs and an attractive site do not encourage seniors to attend senior centers. Yet, there are 30 ways seniors benefit from senior centers beyond just meals (page 11 of infrastructure survey report). 

Unmet needs of seniors:

• Waiting lists for EISEP home care - A recent CSCS survey of 30 case management agencies working with the homebound reports 539 frail elderly individuals on waiting lists for home care. EISEP is a state/city funded program for seniors above the Medicaid level. Many of the seniors are low income but don’t qualify for Medicaid. 

• Waiting lists for meals-on-wheels - There are about 155 homebound elderly on meals-on-wheels waiting lists citywide. The waiting list would be much higher if it were not for Citymeals which privately funds 1300 homebound elderly who would otherwise be on waiting lists.

• ESL/Civics classes at senior centers – Last year City Council restored $335,000 to the ESL program at 38 senior centers. We recommend that funding be increased to $1 million - $750,000 would bring it back to its original full funding level and an additional $250,000 would expand the program to other senior centers.

• Transportation – $5 million needs to be invested in vans run by senior centers and other senior service organizations in order to pay for the operating costs – driver salary, fuel, insurance, maintenance, and parking. Advocate Betsy Gotbaum recently released a report about insufficient funding for vans operated by senior centers. Due to lack of funding some vans are not used all or part of the time. These vans bring seniors to doctors, senior centers, adult day service programs and other critical sites. The city needs to invest additional funds in order to allow all vans to operate at all times.

Once again, thank you for the opportunity to testify today. We look forward to working with your office to ensure that seniors receive the services they require to age in place with dignity.