- By Dan Veaner
- Opinions
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I wouldn't want to be the County Administrator this week, because everyone hates him. He revealed his recommended budget to the County Legislature Tuesday, and in this economic environment it isn't pretty. Whole programs will be eliminated if the legislature agrees with his recommendations, and many others severely cut. Personally I think the County does too much that is discretionary, which raises taxes for things that I might not think are valuable enough to the community to warrant the tax we pay. So whenever I see things I do like on the chopping block I say, 'Whoa! If you want them to cut you can't complain when something you like is added to the scrap heap of County services.But Youth Services? Really?
Full disclosure: my two children both took part in Lansing Youth Services programs under three brilliant program managers, Micaela Cook, Isabel Bazaldua (both gone now to earn masters degrees), and Dawn Kleeschulte (who continues to head the High School Helpers program). Aside from the fun factor I thought the programs were outstanding at addressing less common interests than sports and music, building character, and gaining skills in the workplace. I believe the effect of these programs on my children was tangible. Knowing how to interview and get a job had actual results and continues to. I could go on, but I won't. Suffice it to say that when I learned what these program managers get paid for all the truly well done things they do I was shocked that you could get that high a caliber of person for so little money.
On Wednesday Youth Services representatives presented their case to the Lansing Town Board, hoping the Town will continue to support the program, especially now that its future of County support is in jeopardy. County Youth Services Departments' Community Youth Services Coordinator Janice Johnson argued that her programs are worth saving, not just because of the high quality varied programs it offers to rural (and urban) youth, but because
- youth services is a very small piece of the overall county budget
- kids who are in youth services programs are probably not robbing a store or getting pregnant
- most other counties have the expense of parks and recreation departments. In Tompkins County that expense is born by the municipalities, so pushing the full responsibility for youth services onto the municipalities ignores the fact that they have already taken on programs and expenses that are more typically handled by counties in New York State ( a quick Web search confirmed that many -- not all -- counties have parks and rec departments. Tompkins County does not, and the existance of several outstanding state parks within the county enhances those our municipalities have to offer)
The reputation Tompkins County has for social services is such that people move here to take advantage of them, thus raising the demand for and cost of the services to local taxpayers. I don't know whether that is actually true, but I do ask myself this: who would I rather support with my tax money? People who move here to get services they couldn't get at home, or kids who are growing up here? And if these programs contribute one iota of character and knowledge building that steers these kids on a road that keeps them from needing social services (or criminal justice services) isn't that worth more than some of the other things the county does in the long run?
The figure $100,000 per year to house a kid in institutions like the Finger Lakes Residential Center was bandied about in Wednesday's Town budget meeting, and the entire Lansing Youth Services budget for a year is just about two thirds of that. So two thirds of one kid in juvenile detention -- and while it's not our county taxes that pay for that kid, our state taxes surely do. Different till, same wallet. -- equals 143 Lansing kids participating in programs. Some participate in multiple programs, for a total of 405 participations.
Or in dollars, $66,666 (that's not the actual figure, and the county contributes less than half, by the way) divided by 405 participations = $164.61 per participation. If that keeps all 143 kids out of the hoosegow that is a savings of $1,423,3334 (143 kids x $100K - $66,666).
Before you blast me for my math, or for the fact that the likelihood of all 143 kids going bad because they didn't get their youth services programs, I will say that I know these are not scientific numbers. But they do illustrate why one program is more valuable than others, not just in the warm and fuzzy department, but in dollars, whatever they may end up actually being. If one of those kids is turned from an unfortunate path to the straight and narrow it is a savings of about $33,000. Plus you get a working, taxpaying grown up a few years down the road. Not as dramatic as my math above, but still nothing to sneeze at.
So I am going to say that as our county legislators consider how on earth they are going to come up with a budget that we taxpayers can't afford, but can afford more than the one they we have to if the legislators weren't (responsibly, I would say) considering cutting programs, that maybe Youth Services isn't a good choice for cuts right now. Or at least not a good choice for any more than the across the board percentage that all department heads were asked to meet this year.
Lansing Youth Services committee members not only urged town council people to continue with their piece of support for the programs, but also that everyone in the room contact their legislator to tell her what they think about the county cuts. For or against, I think that's a great idea. My thought is, in short: it's not much of a dent in the budget, the value for the money is indescribably outstanding, the eventual savings could be huge, and it's our kids.
Kids.
Note: I am only using approximate figures for Lansing here. Each municipality's youth services programs currently gets county money. Lansing gets, I think, the fourth least amount, with Newfield getting the least. But even when you add up the entire amount the County administrator has proposed cutting, it is but a nick in the overall county budget, and the value for the money is, I believe, undeniable.
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