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	Senior Center Budget Woes ‘Not Unusual’

	By Vernon Robison Moapa Valley Progress Submitted April 23, 2008 In recent weeks, discussion of moderate budgetary concerns at the Overton Senior Center have caused rumors to fly throughout the senior community. Seniors have been worried that a lack of funding to the center will cause important Senior Center programs to be cut; programs like Meals on Wheels and senior transportation. But Senior Center director, Ruth Callwell, dismisses most of these rumors as unfounded and says that the Senior Center’s budget hurdles are not unheard of, nor are they unassailable. Callwell has served in the Senior Center post since the end of February following the sudden death of previous director, Jim Purkey. Since that time she has had the opportunity to take a very close look at the Center’s finances. “I found areas in the budget where our expenditures have been far greater than our income,” Callwell said. “So when I started, I called the Senior Center board together for a meeting to discuss what could be done in these areas.” Many of these areas dealt with the center’s transportation budget. Because of drastically higher fuel prices, the cost of providing some of the services has gone up significantly. This caused Callwell and the board to rethink some of the basic operations of the center’s Meals on Wheels program and the rides offered into Las Vegas, Mesquite and St. George. But this doesn’t mean that the programs are in danger of being cut completely, Callwell insisted. “Meals on Wheels, for example, is funded by grants,” Callwell said. “Those funds must be used on that program. So we aren’t just going to shut the program down.” Callwell did say that members might see some changes in the operation of the Meals on Wheels program. Rather than using the large diesel bus to deliver meals to area seniors, drivers may be sent out in smaller, more economic, vehicles. Changes might also be observed in the Senior Center tranportation program. Transportation at the center is also funded, in part, by grants. But members who are being transported out of the community to Mesquite, St. George or Las Vegas are also asked to participate in the transportation costs. Currently a fee is charged to ride the senior bus. A ride to Mesquite costs $9; Las Vegas $20 and St. George is $22. Callwell said that these base fees will remain in force. But the center may have to look at charging a small fuel surcharge to cover the fluctuating fuel costs. That surcharge would be expected go up or down based on the price of fuel, Callwell said. Callwell assures that these types of modifications are not abnormal for an institution like the Senior Center. “We operate on a slim budget,” she said. “We always have. So unforeseen expenses like high fuel costs or unexpected repairs can have a significant impact on the budget.” The year 2007 saw total annual expenses to the Senior Center of $242,000, Callwell said. Only about 61% of those expenses are funded with county and state grants. The rest of the expenses must be covered by fundraisers or other member-driven initiatives. “In slow fund-raising years, like we may be experiencing now, we might have to look at personnel cuts too,” Callwell said. Callwell explained that the Board was considering reducing hours of some of the paid positions at the center. But Callwell was clear that none of these proposed changes means that the Senior Center is an danger of closing its doors. “This center has operated on a shoestring budget for many, many years,” she said. “And we will continue to work as we have in the past at fulfilling our mission to the seniors of this community.” In the fall, the Senior Center is anticipating the opening of a new facility currently under construction in Overton. This facility is scheduled to be completed by Thanksgiving, Callwell said. “But the new building won’t answer all of our problems,” she pointed out. Callwell said that some seniors believe that, once the center opens, the county will pick up the bill for many of the senior center programs. “Some people ask why we bother doing fundraisers anymore because the county will be maintaining our facility in the future,” Callwell said. “But this is not correct. The county is just providing a new roof over our heads. We’ll still be responsible to maintain that facility and to operate all of our own programs. None of that is going to change so we’ll need community fundraisers as much as ever.” Callwell is a retired Army computer programmer. She retired in 1994 after 20 years of service. She is a native of Pennsylvania and has lived in Southern Nevada for only a couple of years. She moved to Overton a year ago and spent the past year working at the Senior Center as former director, Jim Purkey’s assistant. After Purkey’s death in February, Callwell was hired by the board to replace him. “I really like working with the people who are members of the senior center,” Callwell said of the job. “I truly enjoy this community.”