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Q&A
Council member questions OMB's commitment to restore DFTA funding
0:56:37
·
145 sec
Council Member Linda Lee expresses concern about the potential budget cuts to DFTA and questions whether OMB is committed to restoring funding. She highlights the challenges faced by service providers due to inflation and increased costs.
- Commissioner Cortés-Vázquez acknowledges the relationship between service levels and funding
- Discussion of efforts to keep pace with rising food and fuel costs
- Council Member Lee emphasizes the need for a clear commitment from OMB to restore funding
Linda Lee
0:56:37
I know that folks have already asked about the fiscal cliff OMB follow-up questions.
0:56:40
I want to drill down a little bit more because I know that you're saying that OMB is saying that there will not be service reductions but are they committed to restoring the funding because if I recall the same thing happened last year and that funding hasn't been restored.
0:56:55
So my worry and concern is that as we continue to not replace the funding from previous years, essentially the budget does decrease and as a former provider of DFTA services, I know that it is extremely difficult because we're already working on shoestring budgets and just as an example for the cost of food, congregate meals, homebound meals, the other day I went around the corner to the deli and the woman at the counter was like oh you got a hard boiled egg, I got to charge you an extra 1.25 for that and she actually separately charged me an extra $1.25 for the extra egg that I got.
0:57:32
So I just worry and my concerns are with the cost of inflation, food increases, all of these things, how are we saying that we're the service provider, the service is not going to be reduced so that basically essentially to me the way I interpret that is that more will fall on the actual providers to come up with that money or to skimp which we don't want to see for our seniors.
0:57:56
So I just wanted to drill down on that a little bit more.
Lorraine Cortés-Vázquez
0:58:00
I would have to say that there is a corresponding relationship between service levels and dollar amounts.
0:58:06
And I think in the conversation I think that's an understood, you know, that is understood.
0:58:16
We've been able to keep pace, well not keep pace, but we've been able to increase food costs, the food line for home delivered meals.
0:58:24
It's a conversation that we're in with OMB around OACs right now, and also fuel costs.
Linda Lee
0:58:32
Yes.
0:58:33
The fuel costs have gone up.
0:58:35
Yeah, so if you could follow-up to see if the OMB commitment will be there to restore that funding because I know that they said that they would last year and I don't think that ever happened so I would love to see that funding being restored but I also Councilwoman, I don't
Lorraine Cortés-Vázquez
0:58:52
believe that we had a reduction last year.
0:58:57
Oh the surplus, okay.
Linda Lee
0:59:00
Yeah.
0:59:01
Alright.