Politics & Government

Seniors Speak Out Against Proposed Senior Center Staff Cuts

Council members vow to find other places to cut the proposed $50,000 from the 2012-2013 budget.

A group of about 75 polite but determined senior citizens filed into the City Hall Council Chambers Tuesday to demonstrate their opposition to a plan to reduce the hours of the Senior Center Coordinator. Throughout the meeting, members of the City Council assured them they would look for other places to cut instead.

At issue is a plan to reduce Senior Center Coordinator Bonnie Prado’s hours from 32 hours per week to 20, for what Assistant City Manager Alan Shear said is a savings of about $50,000. He said the remaining hours could be filled in by temporary staff. The move is part of a series of staff freezes and cuts to make up an $800,000 deficit facing the city this year. Those include the freezing of two police officer positions, a dispatcher position, maintenance worker, city manager secretary, and the elimination (in 2012-13) of the code enforcement officer.

But at Tuesday’s meeting of the Budget Subcommittee, councilmembers Mark Ross and Lara DeLaney faced a room full of seniors who felt the budget was being balanced at the expense of what they said were important programs. They said that cutting Prado’s hours would result in a loss of important programs.

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“How do you know what goes on down there,” asked Senior Center Club president Larry Risner. “You’re going to be senior citizens one day. It seems to me like you’d be a little bit more supportive. Many of these people have a limited ability to move around. This is all they have.”

“Our membership grows every year,” said Barbara Torcios, incoming club president. “Then you take away the coordinator at the top. We need the support of the city to make all this work. It sounds like we’re not getting it.”

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“This is just the start of it,” said DeLaney. “We can ask staff to take another look to see if they can find another way to make up for the shortfall.”

But she added that even with the freezes and cuts, “we’re not out of the hole. Adjustments continue to need to be made.”

“We all love you,” said Ross. “I’m sad you’re here because I have a feeling someone has gotten you riled up. There is no intention to cut services in depth at the senior center. I assure you that Lara and I will see if we can fix it. “

The council is scheduled to consider a final budget at its meeting on June 15.


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