Budget Cuts In San Jose May Hurt Some Cupertino Residents

At least 18 homebound Cupertino residents could be left hungry by potential funding cuts in neighboring San Jose. Buried amid throngs of programs and services on the budget chopping block, the San Jose City Council on Tuesday could cut a sliver of funding for a program that serves as a lifeline for 600 of the county’s homebound disabled seniors and adults.

Meals on Wheels, a meal service project that delivers more than 100,000 meals annually in the county, stands to lose a total of  $106,618 in funding from the city of San Jose, which would result in the elimination of as many as 20,000 meals to these needy individuals. Last year, the program served daily meals to 18 homebound residents each in Cupertino and Los Gatos and even more in other neighboring communities such as 26 in Campbell and 35 in Gilroy.

The program, funded and run through the Silicon Valley’s Health Trust non-profit, has drivers delivering hot, nutritious meals every weekday to its clients. In addition to meals, food deliverers perform a basic wellness check on each client, according to Patty Fisher, Health Trust director of policy and communication. In some cases, she says, it is the only human connection these adults receive.

“What makes Meals on Wheels so special is that our drivers provide so much more than food,” said Frederick Ferrer, Health Trust CEO. “They sit and talk with their clients, look for signs that they might need medical help. Often they are the only visitors these seniors have in a day.”

Meals are delivered Monday through Friday, and on Friday, meals that can be heated up throughout the weekend are distributed. The program has been running for 30 years and is one of the Health Trust’s oldest programs.

But the program is being threatened by the large amount of funding it might lose from the San Jose. And this possible hit comes on the heels of a recent funding cut by Santa Clara County in the amount of $56,250, according to Fisher.

San Jose is scheduled to vote on its proposed 2011-2012 Proposed Operating Budget, which would close a $115 million shortfall through significant reductions in city staffing and city services, according to Tom Manheim, city of San Jose director of Communications.  Service cuts would be recognized in public safety, with the potential elimination of 195 sworn in officers; libraries, with the elimination of 72 positions and a significant reduction in branch hours; the fire department, with an elimination of 64 sworn positions; and the parks and recreation department with an elimination of 182 positions and a reduction of 10 hours for all community center hubs.

San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed blames rising retirement costs for the city’s exhaustive decade of cuts to city services, stating in a budget summary earlier this month, “Over the last decade, San Jose has had 10 straight years of escalating budget shortfalls. Throughout this decade, our costs per employee have continued to go up--both in years when our revenues rose and when they shrank,” he said. “Wages, healthcare costs, and other costs have increased over the past decade, while City services have been reduced.”

Reed estimates that if retirement costs are left unchecked, it could rise to $400 million per year.  

And while the $106,000 in funding is a small margin to the $115 million budget shortfall, the funding is critical in supporting the independence and dignity many of these seniors and disabled adults receive by virtue of living independently in their homes.

But should the cuts take place, the Health Trust is determined to exhaust other avenues to keep the program operating.

“We will reach out to the community to try to get donations and we’ll keep trying to find other sources of funding,” vows Fisher.

More information is available on the Health Trust’s Meals on Wheels website.