Some Residents Unhappy About JCC Budget Cuts to Charities

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

New County Administrator Robert Middaugh had to defend some of his budget decisions Tuesday evening as several county residents expressed their unhappiness with funding changes to the local senior center and Big Brothers Big Sisters.

Middaugh offered his first budget for James City County a few weeks ago, which increases projected revenues by just over $3 million but still curbs spending due to expected troubles over the next fiscal year and beyond (read a detailed story on the budget here). Changes proposed include a funding reduction of just over $20,000 to the Historic Triangle Senior Center and an alteration in Big Brothers Big Sisters funding that would pay the group for services rendered instead of providing set funds. Several residents came to share their concerns over the changes with the Board of Supervisors Tuesday, so the Board asked for more information on the two issues for their upcoming budget work sessions. Middaugh addressed the two issues before the hearing began in order to clear things up with the public.

Middaugh said that through public conversation and various media reports, incorrect information was shared about these two funding changes. The senior center will not be shut down, the program will not be evicted from its current location inside the Williamsburg James City Community Center and services to seniors won’t be reduced, he told the audience and the board. The organization would, though, need to schedule times to use the Community Center room and would lose about $20,000.

The funds will be moved to the Parks and Recreation department, Middaugh said, to provide “more expansive and varied” programs for seniors, and would be used to bring senior programs to other areas of the county.

He said the county was concerned about how wisely the group was spending the money (which mostly was used for staff costs), and that the group wasn’t responsive to county concerns shared with the executive director of the program. The county cut funding for the program in half last year, he said, which should have sent the organization a message. They still would receive over $13,000 in funding in the budget.

No other organization gets free space from the county, according to Middaugh, and most of the folks working on the program are volunteers and not paid staff.

Several seniors who participate in the center’s programs made heartfelt pleas to the Board to protect their program. Many were concerned that their single, well-used room would be taken away from them and that the program would cease to exist. The group has about 120 members, according to one speaker.

Some center members said that county staff told them they would have to move all their computers and furniture and other items out of the room when they weren’t using it, which would disrupt programming and take significant time and effort.

Chairman of the Board of Directors for the senior center William Carmines told the board that his organization had never heard complaints from the county about their program until the budget came out two weeks ago. “We can’t be the center you want us to be without communication to us first,” he said.

The group doesn’t have funds to do community outreach as county staff would do using the reappropriated money, according to Carmines.

Also, “without dedicated space… we can’t function,” said Carmines. He requested that the county give the center until January 2012 to find a new location.

Supervisor Bruce Goodson said he had some concerns about the idea of giving the senior center only temporary space. He also wanted to look at the budget implications and what the Parks and Recreation staff and new programming costs would be, so the Board will discuss this at their upcoming budget work sessions. Other Supervisors agreed with Goodson.

Chairman Mary Jones chided staff, saying the “level of communication could have been greatly improved” regarding the proposed budget changes.

Only Big Brothers Big Sisters Executive Director Elizabeth Chisolm was on hand to address the Board specifically about her program, but she pointed out that taking away the nearly $7,000 in funds would have a devastating impact on her organization’s ability to get funding from various other funding partners.

Middaugh told the audience that the county removed the funding from the program, but that it would pay Big Brothers Big Sisters for their services on a contract basis out of the Social Services budget. This allows for better accounting for funds spent for services and allows the county to pay for services rendered, Middaugh said.

His aim in the budget overall was to make sure the county is paying for actual services obtained instead of simply paying for general operations, he said when he first unveiled the budget in March.

Chisolm said the county and her organization have worked in partnership for years, and her concern is that “this is a change in the nature of our relationship.” The group currently serves 198 clients in the area.

Supervisor Jim Kennedy asked staff to look at the benefits and costs of the various funding scenarios for Big Brothers Big Sisters, which will also be discussed at the Board’s budget work sessions.

View the budget on the county’s website. Budget work sessions are set for April 14, 18 and 20, and the Board is set to adopt the budget on April 26.