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Friday, February 10, 2012
154 shelter beds slashed in county budget cuts
by Kathleen Haley, published on June 25, 2009 at 7:29 PM
Storyline: Sacramento County Budget
Concerns raised earlier this month about a lack of funding for shelter beds have become reality: Budget cuts to the county’s Department of Human Assistance (DHA) mean there will be 154 fewer shelter beds for homeless people during most of the year, according to DHA spokeswoman Lucinda Serynek.
The Board of Supervisors on June 17 approved the county’s proposed budget with major cuts that addressed a $180 million shortfall. In September, a final budget will be adopted.
The 154 beds were not funded when the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors approved the county’s proposed budget. Serynek confirmed Wednesday that 154 beds won’t receive county funding for all but one month month in the 2009/2010 fiscal year, which starts July 1.
The county has enough funding for about a month at its winter shelter, Serynek explained. The county has $135,000 in federal funding to cover 154 shelter beds at Cal Expo for one month next winter, she said. The specific month has not been selected at this point.
DHA Director Bruce Wagstaff told the Board of Supervisors earlier this month that the department would not be able to cover the costs of 154 beds. The Supervisors were able to keep 174 of the original 328 beds with the help of other county departments and stakeholders.
Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.
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The county should spend its $135,000 on basic, minimal shelter that costs $10/bed/night and NOT $30/bed/night, the cost of a Motel 6 stay. This can be done using a warehouse, of which there are many unoccupied ones in the city.
On another note, are the countdown signs outside of Loaves and Fishes in reference to the beds being cut? I drove by the other day but couldn't slow down enough to read.