VCDR – ALERT – Budget Update – February 2nd 2010
Reminder of Public Hearing on the FY 2011 State Budget
Information Notice
Joint Public Hearing on Fiscal Year 2011 budget
On Vermont Interactive Television
House and Senate Appropriations Committees
Monday, February 8, 2010, 4:30 – 7:00 p.m. – The House and Senate
Appropriations Committees will hold a joint public hearing on Vermont
Interactive Television (V.I.T.) to give Vermonters throughout the state an opportunity to express their views about the state budget for fiscal year 2011.
All V.I.T. sites will be available for the hearing: Bennington, Brattleboro, Castleton, Johnson, Lyndonville, Middlebury, Montpelier, Newport, Randolph Center, Rutland, Springfield, St. Albans, Waterbury, White River Junction, and Williston. V.I.T.’s web site has an up-to-date location listing, including driving directions, addresses and telephone numbers, http://www.vitlink.org/
For information about the format of this event, interested parties may call the House Appropriations Committee office at 802/828-5767.
Requests for interpreters should be made to the office by 12:00 noon on Friday, January 29, 2010.
We have attached a number of documents or provided lings in this email on the 2011 budget proposed by the Governor. Committees have started to take testimony from the administration and others on the budget.
The first opportunity to comment on the budget is the above interactive (VIT) TV Hearing where both the House and Senate Appropriations Committees will hear from the Public on the proposed Budget.
The House Appropriation Committee has scheduled “Advocates” testimony on two days at the State House in Room 11 –
Tuesday, February 16th from 2:45 PM to 4:00PM and
Wednesday, February 17th from 9:30 AM to 10:45 AM.
(Also Disability Awareness Day at the Statehouse).
This testimony is much more limited and a number of VCDR “Advocates” are already scheduled. You must sign up ahead to get a slot. At this time, the slots are filling up fast but contact Karen Lafayette if you represent a particular program or funding. The best option (because of the time limitation) is to attend one of the VIT sites to be heard as member of the public. kmlafayette@aol.com
There will be some committees in the legislature taking testimony from VCDR members during the Day on Disability Awareness Day as well.
Here is the link for the Proposed Agency of Human Services Reductions in the FY 2011 Budget:
This Document is also Attached in an excel file. This document contains all of the Human Services reductions in program funding and grants proposed in OVHA, DAIL, Health Department, AHS Central Office, and DCF. This document does not reflect the reductions in Corrections or Mental Health and some Developmental Services. (A 5% reduction in MH and DS totaling $13.6 Million). Those reductions (Corrections and Mental Health and Developmental Serices) are detailed in the “savings” represented in the $38 Million contained in the Challenges for Change.
The total reduction in General Fund Human Services is $53.6 Million. The federal “match” money listed on the document is another $43.6 Million, but in testimony before House Human Services, the Secretary said that the loss of Federal money was $51 Million. The reductions in general fund and federal fund services in the Challenges for Change is in addition to the $104.6 Million.
Here is the link to the “narrative” of AHS cuts and Reductions:
AHS_reduction_list_by_department.pdf
We will send along more Budget analysis during the week as the information comes in from different advocacies and departments.
The OVHA/Medicaid budget is available on the OVHA website.
Office of Vermont Health Access – Medicaid Budget – 2011.pdf
DAIL has said they will post their testimony of increases and reductions on their website, but at this time, it is not up on their website.
We have attached a detailed “narrative” of the DAIL cuts and reductions, and the Excel Spreadsheet of “cuts”.
Submitted by Karen Lafayette.