Westchester County Public Hearing on Senior Programs Funding
For two days last week, Commissioner for Westchester County Department of Senior Programs and Services Mae Carpenter was down in Washington D.C. discussing what work she and others are doing for seniors in Westchester
On Friday, she was back in Westchester, presenting at the Annual Public Hearing and Advocacy Speak Out for the Department of Programs and Services (DSPS), and happy to be there.
“I can’t wait to get back to real people, doing real things for real seniors,” Carpenter told the near capacity audience at the Westchester County Center in White Plains. “And we’re going to continue to do real things for real people for real seniors here in Westchester County.”
Carpenter, along with other speakers talked about potential cuts in the federal and state budgets next year. During the three-hour public hearing, Carpenter outlined the 2013 update to the 2012-2016 Area Plan on the use of the Older Americans Act & NYS Community Services for the Elderly Funds.
The 2013 annual plan describes DSPS’s goals, objectives, initiatives, reporting requirements for agencies and businesses that provide goods and services to the department, funding allocation strategies and other topics. The annual plan is what Carpenter will be submitting to the State Office for the Aging due December 1. Written comments for the plan will be accepted through October 5.
Carpenter said following the hearing she tried to break everything down into “digestible parts.”
“We wanted go over how the funds have to be distributed according to the latest federal and state guidelines we received,” Carpenter said afterward.
Deputy Westchester County Executive Kevin Plunkett also spoke during the hearing and affirmed that the County Executive will continue the same funding for seniors next year.
“In our budget for 2013 senior programs will be continued, the senior initiatives will be funded and I can assure you that the budget lines that are in our budget for 2012, will be continued in 2013.” Plunkett pledged.
With possible federal and state budget cuts looming, Plunkett said it was important for citizens to contact their state senators and congressional representatives. With great senior programs, he said, funding is essential to keep it that way.
Legislation was passed that would lead to cuts starting January 1, originally for both military and domestic programs. Because the federal government now doesn’t want to cut military funding, more of a burden will fall on domestic funds.
The challenge for Carpenter is to make sure seniors are still mobile. With many seniors unable to drive or afford cars, transportation is still essential in order to keep a certain standard of living and interaction, Carpenter said.
During the public hearing portion of the forum, Mary DeSilva of Yorktown Nutrition discussed how critical meal delivery to seniors’ homes is, but it could possibly be cut. Without that service, DeSilva said many seniors would go hungry.
“I am pleading with the legislators to please restore funding and not penalize seniors who happen to live in the northern part of the county, who are alone, are frail and vulnerable,” DeSilva said.
While federal cuts seem to be pending, Carpenter said she assumes that the state budget for senior citizens will be the same as the previous year.
Carpenter said, “We have not received any word that the state budget will include cuts.”
