Two Fun Things To Do Next Week

Well, it depends on your definition of 'fun.'   As I mentioned here last week, budget time is among us, and we have to trim down the requests by a whole lot to get to 'balanced.'  Most of the committees have done most of their detailed investigation and cutting by now.  One of my committees - Health and Education - spend a good deal of time talking about the senior meals program through the Office for the Aging.  It's not a mandated program - the law doesn't require that it continue - and, overall, it costs abvout $800,000. The law does prohibit charging or means-testing participants, regardless of ability to pay.  There are center meals, provided in public places (Nader Towers and Elm Park Church in the southern part of the county), and there are home-delivered meals.  More frozen meals are being delivered to outlying sections of the county, in order to reduce the number of trips per week, so that savings has already been accomplished.  So how do we address this?  Should it be eliminated entirely? Close one or more centers?  Freeze more - or all - meals and deliver only once a week?  This is just one program in one Department; these kinds of discussions are going on all over the County.

The Two Fun Things To Do involve observing this process yourself.  The Administration Committee, renamed the Budget Committee for this process, takes the Budget as it stands after the Commmittees have done their best, and interviews Department heads, looking for more cuts.  The Budget Committee will meet at 9:15 AM at the County Office Building on Monday, October 22, and Wednesday, October 24.  The meetings are open to the public but, like Board meetings, the public can observe but not participate in the process.  I don't know for sure which Departments are scheduled for which day, but if you are interested, you can call the Clerk of the Board's office and ask.  I'll be there Monday, observing as well.  I think it's important that we all know what goes into this sausage of a Budget.