Advocates For The Elderly Aim To Reverse Budget Cuts
Mayor Bloomberg plans to slash $3.3 million from the elderly-case-management program as part of a sweeping budget cut proposal.
Advocates for the elderly and New York City’s Department of Aging are at odds over the affect Mayor Bloomberg’s budget cuts would have on in home counseling services for the elderly. Last month Mayor Bloomberg announced plans to cut $3.3 million dollars from the elderly-case-management program as part of a larger plan to tighten the budget by $585 million from the current fiscal year budget.
According to Bobbie Sackman, director of public policy for Council of Senior Citizens and Services of New York City, the plan will leave 8,000 senior citizens without in-home counseling services because the cuts would cause 110 layoffs. However, the city Department for the Aging the city says it will instruct service providers not to drop any seniors. Instead, it plans to increase the work loads of existing providers. “That’s incredulous,” said Sackman. “You can’t cut budgets by 30 percent and say no one is impacted.”
Members of City Council are in talks with the Bloomberg Administration about reversing the cuts. Mayor Bloomberg does not need the approval of City Council to approve the cuts as he has the legal authority to implement them unilaterally.
A hearing on the budget plan is scheduled for Monday, December 6th.
