Many Hurt by Sequester, County Nonprofits Seek Extra Funds
Posted
Jordan Fouts-
Sequester cuts have left their mark on local non-profit services, Kosciusko County Commissioners heard Tuesday morning. Nine non-profits that receive county funding presented 2014 budget requests with a total increase of $70,915 over this year. Representatives of several groups cited sequester cuts directly as the reason for increased funding needs. Many organizations requested an increase of around five percent, after seeing funding from the county remain flat for the past few years. Commissioners will consider the requests when they begin looking at the 2014 budget in the coming months. Jane Wear, CEO of Cardinal Services, said they lost $70,000 in grant funding for early childhood education due to sequestration. She said to save money they will have to eliminate all bus service for families, meaning some children in outlying areas – those with the least resources – can’t be served. She noted Kosciusko Area Bus Service also did not receive the full amount of federal funds, due to the government failing to sign some paperwork on time, forcing them to eliminate two bus routes. And she said their community living program, which serves 60 people and suffered a 7 percent cut a few years ago which was never restored, is their biggest area of loss. “It seems like every year it’s not a pretty picture, and this year is no exception,” she said. Her $108,001 request for 2014 represents a $14,667 increase from this year. Jo Faulkner, on behalf of the Kosciusko County Council on Aging, requested $35,000 from the county, an increase of $6,427 from this year. She told commissioners the automatic spending cuts that began March 1 meant a 15 percent decrease in their funding, a loss of about $8,000. At the same time, she said, they’ve ramped up their hours and services due to increased need. “We’re looking for every avenue of funding we can,” she told commissioners. “All of our funding is just to maintain our programming, we’re not buying new vans or anything.” Rick Paczkowski with Home Health Care said his agency took a 2 percent loss from sequestration, something he didn’t expect would hit them. He requested a five percent increase – $45,000 for 2014, up from $42,750 this year – noting that the state only reimburses them 50 percent for costs like mileage and wages, and that they’ve been asked to take on more patients while already losing money on existing ones. Also presenting budget requests were Kosciusko County 4-H Council, seeking a $10,963 increase for a total of $51,574; the county Historical Society, seeking a $1,345 increase to $21,600; the Beaman Home, seeking a $1,427 increase to $30,000; and the St. Joe River Basin, seeking a $50 increase to $450 Animal Welfare League Director Darla McCammon requested an extra $18,996, for a total of $81,857; and the Bowen Center requested a total of $542,870, which is an extra $14,790 from this year and which Senior Vice President Jay Baumgartner said works out to $96 per patient. Only the request from the Kosciusko Economic Development Corp., for $152,000, did not represent an increase. Also during the meeting, commissioners voted to allow County Administrator Ron Robinson to purchase a new oven for the county jail kitchen. At 600 meals a day, he said they desperately need to replace the old oven quickly. And commissioners expressed support for the $200,000 in additional appropriations Highway Superintendent Scott Tilden said he will request at the July County Council meeting.
