King County cuts funding to Mt Si Senior Center in half
December 9, 2009
By Tara Ballenger
Volunteer Sharon Posey counts money after a bake sale to benefit the Mount Si Senior Center, which will receive nearly $25,000 less from King County in 2010 than in 2009. The sale was held Dec. 5 in conjunction with the annual holiday country store fundraiser at the center. (Photo by Tara Ballenger)
NEW — 9:55 a.m. Dec. 9, 2009
When the dust around the county’s contentious 2010 budget had settled, Mount Si Senior Center’s funding was spared the chopping block, but it did not escape unscathed.
Next year, the center will get $24,500—only half what it has received from the county in years past. And in 2011, that sum will disappear altogether as King County Council members are tasked with trimming more and more off the budget, said Kathy Lambert, District 3 councilwoman who represents Snoqualmie Valley.
“The general fund for the county has been reduced by $150 million in two years,” Lambert said. “We’re going to back to funding only what’s mandated, because that’s all we can afford.”
Last month, days before the Council was planning on voting on the budget, King County Executive Kurt Triplett proposed cutting off the center’s funding completely as one way to help reduce the budget by an additional $6.5 million after other efforts fell through.
“I fought hard to keep the money in for Mount Si,” Lambert said. “It’s hard to convince people, because there are lots of senior centers, people think ‘what about mine?’”
Cuts a few years eliminated funding to nearly all senior centers. Mount Si Senior Center is one of only a handful of centers in the county still receiving money, mostly because it serves people in rural and unincorporated areas who would not be able to access similar services elsewhere, said Lambert.
Ruth Tolmasoff, director of the center, said she’s happy that the county didn’t cut support entirely, but staying in the black with only half the expected funding isn’t going to be easy.
“We’ll be treading water and keeping afloat until we can find a way to raise the money we need,” Tolmasoff said. “We’re not going to be making any rash cuts—the board is really thinking hard about how to approach this.”
Founded in 1977 as a grass roots effort led by seniors, the center employs two full-time staff members and offers classes, activities. transportation and free hot meals to seniors five days a week. It serves between 750 and 1,000 people each year.
The center’s $285,000 budget for 2010 had already factored in the full $49,000 from the county, said Tolmasoff.
North Bend and Snoqualmie maintained their funding levels for the center in their 2010 and the thrift store has been more profitable each year since it opened a few years ago, bringing in over $63,000 in 2009, Tolmasoff said.
She said hopes that revenue stream will continue to grow, but other fundraising will still be necessary, and that will be a challenge—grants for operating budgets are hard to come by and donations are flagging in the down economy.
“This is a time when we should be expanding our services and offering more and more programs,” Tolmasoff said. “Most of our members are people who are living on fixed on incomes, and they need the kind of services we provide.”
Tara Ballenger: 392-6434 ext. 248 or tballenger@snovalleystar.com.
Comments
One Response to “King County cuts funding to Mt Si Senior Center in half”
Got something to say?
Before you comment, please note:
- These comments are moderated.
- Comments should be relevant to the topic at hand and contribute to its discussion.
- Personal attacks and/or excessive profanity will not be tolerated and such comments will not be approved.
- This is not your personal chat room or forum, so please stay on topic.
So sad that our seniors are going to be so severely impacted by the recession. Kudos to Kathy Lambert for fighting to keep some funds for the folks out in the valley.