NORWICH – Chenango County Area Agency on Aging Director Debra Sanderson was surprised to learn at a recent budgeting session that the kitchen at the $26 million Public Safety Facility was built larger to accommodate her department.
During a discussion of the agency’s 2007 utilities’ budget - and what portion of the kitchen’s expenses should the agency cover next year - Town of Guilford Supervisor Alton Doyle told Sanderson that the kitchen “had to be bigger because of Area Agency on Aging” programming needs.
A 7-member team at the new kitchen cooks and contracts to deliver approximately 258 noon-time hot meals a day to seniors and senior centers throughout the county. Afterward, a 3-person staff cooks and serves hot meals to inmates beginning at 5 p.m. There are approximately 90 prisoners at present.
Area Agency on Aging previously prepared seniors’ meals from a kitchen in a house on Elm Street in the City of Norwich. “It was not built bigger for us,” Sanderson said to Doyle. “I was told there was nothing extra put in to put our program in.”
“That’s not right,” Doyle said. Supervisor Dennis Brown, D-Pharsalia, concurred with Doyle following the meeting. “Oh yes, that’s true. We talked about it,” he said.
At issue was $18,000 budgeted for utilities next year. Sanderson said she arrived at the amount based on gas and electric, water sprinkler and trash removal expenses at the former kitchen. The committee predicted it wouldn’t be enough to cover utilities at the new Upper Ravine Road kitchen. Sanderson said funds for the department’s utilities are capped federal and state dollars, but she couldn’t say at what level.
The department’s contractual expenses are estimated to be $616,000 next year. Revenues, $975,000, leaving a local share on the levy of about $200,000 with no increase over 2006.
“We need to know how much it is going to cost to operate that kitchen up there,” Brown said. “It needs to be reflective of the $26 million it cost us to build the jail, separating the cost of the kitchen out and then worked out from there.”
“I don’t know how appropriate it is to cover the cost of that kitchen’s utilities with senior citizens in the county’s money,” Sanderson said.
County Treasurer Bill Evans said the agency doesn’t have “open-ended claiming ability.”
In her report, Sanderson said cooperation at the kitchen with the Sheriff’s Office staff has improved, however there are still food purchasing, meal timing and storage problems.
“The biggest stumbling block is the different populations we serve and the timing of meals,” she sad.
Committee Chairman Lawrence Wilcox, R-Oxford, said communications between the two departments will get better as time goes on. “It’s important to keep the communications open. We’ve only been at this for nine months,” he said.
The Sheriff’s Office employs one full-time cook and two part-timers. According to Doyle, no inmates are permitted to work in the kitchen because they would require constant supervision. “Seems like we have enough corrections officers out there, like someone ought to be able to watch a guy,” Brown said.
Also, Brown questioned increased budgets for travel and conferences and training next year, that if trends continue through 2009, could be “incredible” expenses, he said. Travel increased $7,000 from 2005 and conferences and training, $2,000. Sanderson pointed to higher prices for gasoline and mandated conferences. She also said the agency pays a contractor more than $2 per mile round-trip to deliver meals.
The Area Agency on Aging 2007 budget passed in committee, with Brown opposing. Brown suggested a referral to Health and Human Services and Safety and Rules to develop a number that reflects the actual cost of the kitchen at the Public Safety Building. The referrals passed.
“We’ll make sure to preserve items that are claimable,” Evans said.