By Chris English
SCHOHARIE COUNTY — Feeling that it was left in the lurch by the Schoharie County Council of Senior Citizens, Inc. (Senior Council) on some transportation services, the Schoharie County Board of Supervisors at a special meeting Thursday morning, Sept. 11 took steps to make sure those services continue uninterrupted.
The Senior Council, the organization that also operates the Gathering Place Senior Centers in Cobleskill and Oneonta, informed Schoharie County Aug. 25 that it was terminating three contracts with the county in which the council to employed and provided drivers for various transportation services, with the county providing the vehicles and other equipment. The contracts are public transportation, Medicaid Services and Office of the Aging (home delivered meals, commonly known as Meals on Wheels). Two of the terminations, for public transportation and Medicaid Services, are effective Oct. 1 and the other, home delivered meals, is effective Jan. 1.
At the Sept. 11 meeting, the county BOS passed eight motions, all aimed at making sure the services under the contracts being terminated Oct. 1 are continued despite the Senior Council's action. The various motions involve bringing drivers and other transportation employees under direct employment by the county, making sure no driver or other employee takes a pay cut and authorizing county officials to get the proper authorizations from the state Department of Transportation to continue the services under direct county control.
Also, the county will send out an RFP (Request For Proposals) seeking organizations that can take on the services being terminated by the Senior Council. Since it has more time to deal with the Meals on Wheels contract termination, the BOS and other county officials will work on that in the next few weeks and months.
Early in the Sept. 11 meeting, county Administrator Bryan Best summarized the situation. He said the arrangement on the contracts is that the county reimbursed the Senior Council for salaries and benefits of the drivers and other employees and also paid the Senior Council an 11 percent administrative fee on each contract. The Meals on Wheels contract notice said the council would be terminating the contract Jan. 1 unless the administrative fee is increased to 25 percent, Best said. This would represent a more than doubling of the current fee paid by the county.
Comparing monthly costs on the public transportation and Medicaid Services contracts as they are with the Senior Council and what they would be under direct county control, Best said the current monthly cost under the Senior Council arrangement is $58,460 and would be $47,439 under direct county control, with that monthly cost rising to $79,663 if all employees wanted full benefits.
Best said the lower monthly cost under direct county control is because some employees would be earning less and also the elimination of the administrative fees. However, he noted afterward that the figures he cited during the meeting were no longer accurate because one of the motions passed directed that no employee would take a pay cut under direct county control.
Last Thursday's actions were the latest in a series of developments marking a sour turn in the relationship between the Senior Council and the county. Several months ago, council representatives approached the BOS and asked for $100,000 to provide what council officials said was some badly needed financial help for the group.
The BOS asked to see the council's "books" so it could get a better idea of the group's finances and what the money would be spent on. County Supervisors declined to give out the $100,000 after they were not satisfied with the documentation the Senior Council provided.
"They gave us something but it wasn't books," county BOS Chairman Bill Federice recently said. And while Federice asked at the Sept. 11 meeting that it be focused on correcting the problem and not past history, several at the meeting said they felt the Senior Council's termination of the contracts was retaliation for the council not getting the $100,000.
"My view as an attorney, this is retaliation for everything that has gone on," said county Attorney Mike West.
"Do I think this is retaliatory? I do," added Supervisor Donald Airey of Blenheim. "[However] this might be a blessing in disguise. Maybe we need to take better possession of these critical services. They [Senior Council] are throwing under the bus our seniors and vulnerable population. I view this as an opportunity to get out from under this hostile relationship."
A little earlier in the meeting, Supervisor Earlin Rosa of Seward was pointed in his criticism of the Senior Council.
"They are supposed to be for seniors," he said. "They are supposed to be looking out for seniors, but they are willing to pull the rug out from under us (by terminating the contracts). Something should be put in the papers so everyone knows how this was handled by the Senior Council and Gathering Place."
Senior Council Executive Director and CEO Kimberly Witkowski said she disagreed with the assertions made at the Sept. 11 meeting. Her detailed and full response is included as a separate piece in this newspaper.
Several at the Sept. 11 meeting wanted to keep the drivers and others under permanent county employment.
"Maybe we'd be better staying in-house," said Supervisor Earl VanWormer III of Esperance. "If we put them under our umbrella, I think they should stay there."
Rosa reasoned that county Transportation Director Christine Kraemer has essentially been supervising the drivers and other workers anyway.
"She has been running the whole show," Rosa said. "She knows what to do.
But others felt it was wise to go ahead with the RFP to see if the responses indicate it might be better in the long term for another organization outside the county to handle what the Senior Council has been doing.
"I want an RFP," said Supervisor Alicia Terry of Gilboa. "The responses will give us an opportunity to evaluate whether the county should do it."
At the suggestion of Supervisor Ben Oevering of Schoharie, Kraemer said she would look to see if there are ways to help with the costs of actions taken at the Sept. 11 meeting.
"We will see what we can do to get more state and federal funding to help with this transition," she said.
The complete list of the eight motions passed Sept. 11 is as follows: The employees will start off with a three-month term with the county and that will then be extended another three months if a suitable outside organization is not found via the RFP.
Create two full-time temporary public transportation clerks in the public transportation department and set the salary at a Grade 8 (37.5 hours a week pay scale).
Create six part-time temporary driver positions in the public transportation department and set the salary at a Grade 6 (40 hours per week pay scale).
Create four full-time temporary bus driver positions and 14 part-time temporary bus driver positions and set the salary at a Grade 10 (40 hours per week pay scale).
Waive the pre-employment physical requirement for those CDL drivers that hold a current DOT physical certification.
Authorize the Schoharie County Director of Public Transportation to submit an application to the New York State Department of Transportation for a temporary and permanent public transit operating authority license and authorize the chairman to sign any necessary documents.
Direct the county administrator to issue an RFP for public transportation services.
Hold harmless all those employees that would be temporarily impacted in terms of salary.
Authorize the Schoharie County Director of Public Transportation to submit an application to become Article 19A certified and any other authorities or operating licenses necessary to run the system and authorize the chairman to sign.
At the start of the meeting, moments of silence were held to mark 24 years since the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and honor the victims, and also for recently murdered Christian conservative political activist Charlie Kirk.
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