Senior lunch safe, library loses day

Budget cuts shouldn't affect Douglas County's homemaker and congregate meal programs for seniors, but the library, parks and recreation programs could see cutbacks.

County commissioners juggled an increase in overhead and demands for services with a budget that shrunk by $2.3 million from the previous fiscal year.

A windfall from the Carson Area Metropolitan Planning Organization for Douglas Area Rural Transit should bring $250,000 to county coffers this year, said County Manager Dan Holler.

Douglas County resident Kathy Dolce thanked the board for their efforts to save the senior programs. She cares for her mother, who suffers from Parkinson's disease and dementia, at home.

"Her diet consists of anything with sugar, but she looks forward to lunches at the senior center and I don't have to convince her to eat something healthy," she said. "She sits with her friends and eats. She'd probably be in a nursing home if it weren't for that. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, for keeping this program going."

The county is required to pay the bills for most of the elderly admitted to nursing homes and that easily escalates into a major financial liability for the county. With the burgeoning senior population, keeping senior programs healthy and seniors out of nursing homes will be critical to the county's financial health, according to Commissioner Kelly Kite.

"This is the one area where if we make cuts, it costs us," he said. "If we can keep three seniors out of long-term care, we've saved the county about $180,000."

Douglas County's Parks and Recreation Department will have to reduce its staff, cut services and raise fees. Everything from an increase in preschool and adult sports fees to cutting summer hours of operation at parks will be initiated to curb costs, said Community Services Director Scott Morgan.

Library Director Linda Deacy said library services have been cut each year for the past six years and there is no way to reduce costs further without cutting employees.

"To accommodate this level of cut's I've proposed an additional closure of the libraries, one day a week and Minden and one at Lake Tahoe," she said.

Outreach programs to schools and preschools will also be eliminated, with a few exceptions. The cuts will also decimate what's left of funding for services and supplies. The library can no longer support professional training, she said.

"We understand your position," she told commissioners Wednesday. "And I assure you, we will do the best we can with the remaining resources."

The county must fund services like the sheriff's office, district attorney and assessor's office, leaving commissioners no alternative but to cut services like libraries and parks and recreation, Kite said.

These programs are funded primarily by the transient occupancy or room tax, which has decreased in recent years. Room tax revenues in Carson Valley total $750,000 annually, at a time when demand for programs supported by the fund is escalating.

The revenues were initially split 50/50 between the county and entities like the Lake Tahoe and Carson Valley Visitors Authorities. That changed with the passage of AB 616 in 1996 and next year, tourist promotion will receive 65 percent of the total room tax revenues.

"Right now 64 percent of the TOT is dedicated to promotion and we aren't seeing a return on that investment," said commissioner David Brady. "If the gaming industry was investing that kind of money, they would want to see a better return.

"Why are we putting money toward promotion and cutting back on critical services," he said.

Patrick Kaler, executive director of the Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority, said county officials will see a return on that investment.

Tourism is on the rise and thanks to additional funding for promotion from California, the Authority is focusing outside the regional market, which is not as good it used to be.

-- Susie Vasquez can be reached at svasquez@recordcourier.com or 782-5121, ext. 211.