Stanislaus supervisors rebuke agency over shortage of meals for needy

Seniors never should go hungry because administrators lose track of how much money they're spending.

That message came through loud and clear Tuesday as Stanislaus County supervisors scolded their Area Agency on Aging, which oversees contractor-run Meals on Wheels and senior group lunches.

"The most vulnerable people in the community relied on us for food," said Bill O'Brien, chairman of the Board of Supervisors.

He referred to a near disaster this spring, when meals were sharply reduced as demand swelled because the agency and its nonprofit contractor since 2006, the Howard Training Center, fell asleep at the switch.

Private donations of $145,000 kept meals going to the oldest and most frail, but others — mostly poor — went without a combined 18,389 meals in May and June. More than 2,500 seniors rely on the meals, said Patty Hill Thomas, assistant chief executive officer.

"It just got out of our hands," said Margie Palomino, director of Stanislaus County's Department of Aging and Veteran Services. "We forgot to keep a running total and before we knew it, we were out of money."

O'Brien said staff's presentation Tuesday was long on excuses and short on apology. People can get by without some other government services for a couple of months without much pain, but food is another story, he said.

Addressing seniors, O'Brien said, "Our contractor messed up, but more importantly, your county messed up and the Board of Supervisors is extremely sorry that occurred."

A $5,000 audit blamed the Howard Training Center's management turnover and poor communication with the agency, which should have done more to follow up.

Month-to-month contract

Hill Thomas said changes should give leaders confidence that the error won't be repeated. Rather than reckoning a yearly contract, the county will reimburse the Howard Training Center monthly, according to terms unanimously approved Tuesday by supervisors.

O'Brien was miffed at having no choice but to give the center another nine months of work while the county seeks bids for a new four-year contract starting July 1.

"This kind of forces us into a box," he said. "If we don't approve this today, (meals) stop on Monday. We're forced to extend this contract."

Supervisor Jim DeMartini said he has visited group lunch sites in West Side communities, among 14 throughout the county. Those involved have learned from mistakes, he said.

"I found it efficiently run. The meals were warm and the food was pretty good," DeMartini said. "This program serves a good purpose, especially for homebound seniors. The Howard Training Center is doing a good job providing and delivering food on time, it's nutritious, they're courteous and I'm very impressed."

The provisional contract gives the center $682,650 — $502,650 for Meals on Wheels and $180,000 for group lunches — broken into nine parts over the next nine months. The center must put in $80,363 and historically has exceeded that amount.

Also, suggested donations from seniors will rise from $2 to $3 per meal; the average contribution comes to 16 cents for delivered meals and 75 cents at lunch sites.

On the Net: www.howardtrainingcenter.com/sections/services and www.agingservices.info/htc-senior-meals.shtm.

Bee staff writer Garth Stapley can be reached at gstapley@modbee.com or (209) 578-2390.

BOARD OF SUPERVISORS WATCH

The idea of someday consolidating emergency dispatching throughout Stanislaus County made sense Tuesday to county supervisors, but some don’t want to upgrade private systems with public money.

Fines, collected when ambulance companies are penalized for failing to meet regulations, have been sitting in a fund for years and the amount is expected to build up as authorities adopt more stringent response time standards.

Supervisor Vito Chiesa said using that money to benefit everyone is appropriate. Supervisor Bill O’Brien disagreed, saying that buying ambulances for private companies could help everyone, too, but would be an inappropriate gift of public money.

Supervisors agreed to develop a consolidation plan, including hiring a consultant to wade through complex issues involving ambulances, firefighters and law enforcement. They will decide later how the money from fines should be spent.

A first step would have dispatchers from different entities sharing computer information to improve efficiency, except public agencies in Turlock, Ceres and Oakdale, which have their own systems.

Also Tuesday, by unanimous votes, supervisors agreed to:

• Contract with the state to run a four-year, $3.38million obesity-prevention program. “How do we know if it’s working?” asked Supervisor Terry Withrow, noting that most of the money would be spent on four new staff members and not directly helping people. “I know it’s not general fund money, but it is taxpayer money,” he added. Health administrators said the state sets stringent rules for the program, which aims for long-term gains.

• Pay Nolte Vertical Five $4.37million to manage reconstruction of Highway 99’s interchange with Kiernan Avenue in Salida

• Split $300,000 in Supplemental Law Enforcement Services Funding equally among sheriff’s patrols, jails and district attorney investigations. The amount is down from last year’s $471,300 grant.

• Adopt a wish list for expensive capital improvements over the next two decades, mostly related to road projects. This year’s list identifies 147 projects costing $1.37billion., including widening where Central Avenue and Taylor Road intersect near Ceres, widening turn lanes on Hatch Road, improving the Las Palmas bridge over the San Joaquin River and buying buses.