CITY COUNCIL QUEENS BOROUGH DELEGATION
PUBLIC HEARING – FY2006 CITY BUDGET
APRIL 7, 2005

I am Bobbie Sackman, Director of Public Policy, Council of Senior Centers and Services (CSCS). CSCS is the central organization in NYC representing the 336 senior centers and other community-based senior services organizations. CSCS’ 265 member agencies serve 300,000 older New Yorkers annually by providing services that include adult day services, NORCs, transportation, congregate on-site and meals-on-wheels, home care, case management, housing, ESL/civics, caregiver support services and mental health. Thank you for the opportunity to testify today.

City Council has been a staunch supporter of senior centers and other senior services. Because of you no senior centers have been closed and millions of dollars in other proposed cuts have been averted. On behalf of the thousands of older New Yorkers who benefit from these services, we thank you wholeheartedly.

NYC has no comprehensive strategy plan for allowing seniors to age in place in their homes and communities - 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 a safe, attractive site do not encourage seniors to attend senior centers. Threats of cuts and having to fight for the same funds each year is not a plan. 

PRIORITIES:

• $11.6 million – restorations

• $ 5.0 million – discrete funding stream for vans

• $ 2.0 million – pilot grab bars program

• $ 1.0 million – restoration and expansion of ESL program in senior centers (part of $10 million immigrant services package)

• Impact of living wage law on home care services – unfunded mandate

• Harmful impact of policy on senior centers requiring $500,000 minimum for capital dollars in non-city owned facilities.

• No further expansion into other boroughs of the Bronx meals-on-wheels, “Senior Options” program.

Mayor Bloomberg’s FY2006 preliminary plan for DFTA –

As in previous years, Mayor Bloomberg’s FY2006 preliminary plan eliminates City Council and Borough President discretionary funds for senior services and other critical funds allocated by City Council: 

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, the Department for the Aging Commissioner 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.

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. There are 30 ways seniors benefit from senior centers beyond just meals – see page 11 of “More With Less is Impossible” report. 

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 – 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.

• Robbing from Peter to pay for Paul…until there is nowhere else to cut - Over half the programs responding reported meeting increased costs by cutting funds from another part of the budget such as staff and programs.

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

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

• Endangering senior centers - $500,000 minimum for capital projects in non-city owned facilities - A recent MOU signed between City Council and OMB establishes a $500,000 minimum for capital funding in non-city owned facilities. This policy will leave out the majority of senior centers thereby allowing them to erode even further. City Council and Borough Presidents do not have enough expense dollars to put towards major senior center renovations nor do they have enough capital dollars to spread around their district to meet the $500,000 minimum. This decision endangers future renovations of senior centers in your districts. We call upon City Council to resolve this issue.

• Tackling infrastructure problems - $5 million to establish a discrete funding stream for vans – $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. Some vans are not on the road all the time due to insufficient dollars. 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. 

WE URGE THE QUEENS DELEGATION TO ESTABLISH A DISCRETE FUNDING STREAM FOR VANS - $5 MILLION – A PRIORIY

CSCS AND QICA ARE HOSTING A TRANSPORTATION SUMMIT
MEETING ON MAY 19TH, 9:30-10:30, AT 
QUEENS BOROUGH HALL – YOU WILL RECEIVE
INVITATIONS SOON

• Waiting lists for EISEP home care while home care hours being cut – living wage legislation results in an unfounded mandate for DFTA - 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. A recent CSCS survey of 30 case management agencies working with the homebound reports 539 frail elderly individuals on waiting lists for home care. However, in order to pay for the requirements of the living wage legislation, DFTA reduced home care funding. The Mayor’s Management Report includes an 11% cut to home care hours which is significant. We understand that it was not the intent of the living wage law to cut services. However, due the lack of an infusion of new funds, DFTA now has an unfunded mandate to meet each year. We urge City Council to add language to the living wage law to ensure that service cuts to seniors do not pay for the legislation.

• March, 2003 - $8.10/hour

• July, 2003 - $8.60/hour

• July, 2004 - $9.10/hour

• July, 2005 - $9.60/hour

• July, 2006 - $10.00/hour

According to DFTA, home care hours were not being fully utilized. However, rather than restructure the program so that the utilization of home care hours are maximized, DFTA reduced the number of hours. Community providers are currently working with DFTA to restructure the EISEP home care program in a way that maximizes utilization of home care hours. It is important to understand that even if the reduced hours were restored, over 300 homebound elderly would still be languishing on waiting lists. We are pleased that the state budget includes a $10 million increase in EISEP – NYC should receive about $4 million. However, an unfounded mandate year after year to DFTA’s budget will inevitably hurt seniors. We ask City Council to resolve this.

• $1 million - ESL/Civics classes at senior centers – part of the $10 million immigrant services package supported by City Council - Last year City Council restored $335,000 to the ESL program at 38 senior centers. We recommend that funding be increased to $1 million - $335,000 restoration and $665,000 to expand the program to other senior centers.

$2 million pilot grab bars program - Intro 58 – “Keep Seniors Standing” –

Over 40 Councilmembers have signed on to Intro 58 which requiring landlords to install grab bars into the homes of elderly and disabled tenants. Falls are the leading cause of unintentional death among the elderly. One out of four elderly people who break their hip are dead within a year. Thousands others suffer injuries that leave them disabled. Falls prevention can be a matter of life and death or independence and dependence. 

We urge the Queens delegation to make this $2 million
pilot grab bars program a priority. NYC will be the first
locality nationally to systemically have a grab bars program.

• NO FURTHER EXPANSION OF THE BRONX MEALS-ON-WHEELS PROGRAM, “SENIOR OPTIONS” – CSCS continues to oppose this program and believes it should not be expanded to other boroughs. 

Thank you for the opportunity to testify today. We look forward to working with the Queens delegation to ensure that seniors can age with dignity in their homes and communities.