An announcement on Friday from the Area Agency on Aging that the Community Center, 110 S. Main Street in Joplin, would be closing on April 1, brings home the state’s budget battles.
Unfortunately in the war to keep the state’s budget balanced, there will be casualties. The Area Agency on Aging receives state funding for its nutrition programs. Attendance varies at the downtown nutrition center, although it’s not unusual to see 50 people there.
It’s a deep cut and we expect we will see more throughout our communities. In the case of the Community Center, the AAA says its job is to ensure the organization lives within its means and services aren’t reduced.
We know the closing of the Community Center will create a hardship on some. However, the senior nutrition site on Jackson Avenue will remain open serving hot meals five days a week.
The closing is in response to a $41,000 cut to agency funding from this year’s budget. Senior services through AAA were cut by $1 million statewide. More cuts are expected in the state budget year that starts July 1 because of a slump in state revenues caused by the economic recession.
Jerry Carter, Newton County presiding commissioner and board chairman, called the decision “painful.”
We expect there will be many more “painful” decisions that will have to be made in the months to come and in one way or another we will all be affected.
Let’s focus on solutions that allow services to continue. In the case of seniors, we think the decision to channel all services through one center makes more sense than cutting back on meals.
