Is New York ready for a budget “hunger games,” as childcare and senior centers are about to battle after being $17 million short in Gov Coumo’s budget – PB/TK
Why Is Governor Cuomo Cutting $17 Million From NYC’s Senior Centers?- BY ROSS BARKAN MONDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2017
Even as Governor Andrew Cuomo tries to do ever more to please the rightfully restive left, there is always a give and take. He will only go so far. He will invariably invent ways to disappoint.
The latest move was seemingly subtle: tucked into page 368 of his executive budget proposal is an allocation for Title XX funds, also referred to as the Social Services Block Grant, a capped entitlement program from the federal government. Cuomo’s proposal states the funds will only be used for childcare services.
That sounds innocuous enough. The problem is that allocating the funds purely for childcare will mean an effective cut to senior services in the city, which have traditionally relied on Title XX money. The Department for the Aging estimates the transfer of funds would amount to a $17 million reduction.
In turn, the city would have to consider cutting 65 senior centers if this version of the budget is passed. Other services could suffer as well, like meals served to the elderly, planned social activities, eviction assistance and healthcare help.
Lawmakers are holding rallies against the ultimately arbitrary and needless cuts. It’s unfair for advocates that childcare and senior needs are seemingly pitted against one another, a scenario reminiscent of Cuomo’s disconcerting love of forcing regions of the state to compete against each other for economic grants. In a state budget that will be north of $150 billion, the $17 million is not even one crumb.
Cuomo’s office says his administration is allocating $400 million in additional state funding to the city overall. He wants Mayor Bill de Blasio’s City Hall find a way to scrap some of the cash out of that pot to restore the senior cuts the state is imposing.
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