County Board Budget is NOT Good News

The spin is killing me. Saying there are a “few concerns” but “lots of good news” is pure bullshit. After 10 years of constant cuts and flat funding (essentially cuts as costs rise and funding stagnates) for non-profits that are the work horses of the human services system, this is nearly laughable . . . or cryable. As near as I can tell there’s $1.8M of cuts to Human Services or more . . . or less, not sure. Don’t have hours to figure it out. Looks like they are saving $3,343,652 in Expenses, but spending that money would have brought in $1,501,252 in revenue. They saved $1,842,440 in taxes.

There were also 13.5 or so layoffs throughout the county. I don’t know that exact number either

I can’t call that good news.

A wheel tax could have funded everything above, plus another few positions, provided bus service to Sun Prairie, McFarland and Stoughton, and increased the rainy day fund.

Instead, watch for more service cuts, longer waiting lists and more desperate people. And more bullshit as people try to make themselves feel good about this. I guess when you don’t hand out documents, keep the process and information largely hidden, its easier to spin it. See below for Lynn Green’s version of it, Parisi had a similar one and in talking to supervisors, they are repeating the same kinds of things. This isn’t good. It’s bad. Very bad.

I’m tempted to just start referring everyone directly to these folks. A few feet away from me right now, a woman on SSDI is crying because she is being evicted by the sheriff on Friday at 9:30. We can’t really help her much at this point. Her and her disabled child will be out on the street and she is worried that this will disrupt her child’s progress in school. She’s probably right. We’re giving her a last ditch effort idea, but its not looking too hopeful. We might has well just give her the information for the homeless shelter at this point. With more staff we could do more for her. Instead we will give her a few ideas, some information and wish her luck. Keep this in mind as you read the “good news” below.

Service Providers and Other Interested Parties:

Monday night the County Board adopted the 2012 Dane County budget. While there are a few concerns in our Department’s 2012 adopted budget, it is mainly full of lots of good news. I will try to summarize a very lengthy document for you. Department staff, including me, are available to supply you with more details on an individual basis if you have questions or concerns.

The Department’s 2012 Adopted Budget is $238,184,249. While this may appear to be a drop from 2011, if you take into account the fact that $9,675,185 of State revenue will no longer pass through our budget but will be available to Dane County residents, this is an increase of $4,348,516 over the 2011 Adopted Budget. The revenue that will no longer pass through us is for MA Burials, MA Transportation, and provider payments for services for consumers on the Children’s Long Term Support waiver.

A few things worth noting about the Department’s 2012 Adopted Budget are:

· The Sun Prairie Office that houses CYF and EAWS staff will be closed by 1-1-12. Staff will be moved to existing space at the Stoughton and Northport Offices. The Joining Forces for Families (JFF) and Early Childhood Initiative (ECI) offices in Sun Prairie will remain open.

· A new Communication and Operations Manager position was added to Administration. I am pleased to announce that Tim Saterfield from the County Board Office will be joining the Department in that capacity in January.

· There is money added to provide LTE staff support for the Commission on Sensitive Crimes’ Community Coordinated Response Teams.

· Compliance with the Living Wage Ordinance is still required, but funding was added to help POS agencies comply with this requirement.

· The Ordinance was amended to permit the Department to charge fees for Chapter 54 (guardianship) and Chapter 55 (protective) services.

· While a number of Department positions were eliminated, the Department has no layoffs. There are layoffs in other areas of the County that may cause some bumping. These layoffs have been kept to a minimum and hopefully will be accommodated with limited disruption

· Virtually all POS contracts in the Department were maintained at their 2011 level. I hope your Contract Manager has already shared with you the status of your 2012 funding.

· Several new initiatives were funded in this budget. A drop-in mental health clinic, a new crew at Operation Fresh Start, Housing First services, and funding to support the new CYF Court Diversion Unit are among these.

There is much to be thankful for in the Department’s 2012 Adopted Budget, especially given the reductions in revenue from the State and Feds and the increased demand for our services. I believe that this budget reflects the continuing very high regard that Dane County has for the work of this Department, our consumers, our staff, and our providers. My thanks to all of you who participated throughout this budget development and deliberations. As always, I know your advocacy made a difference in securing increased funding for human services for 2012. While the upcoming year will not be without challenges, we will embark on it together with a solid funding base and a mutual desire to provide quality services to those Dane County residents who need us. If you have any further questions or concerns about this budget or any other aspect of the Department, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Lastly, I want to also take this opportunity to wish you and your staff a very happy holiday season. Everyone has more than earned it!

Lynn 🙂

Lynn Green, Director
Dane County Dept. of Human Services