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Lawrence Council reviews Council on Aging budget as director moves part‑time roles to full time and fields privacy, advisory council questions
Summary
At a May 22 budget hearing, Martha Velez, director of Health and Human Services, presented a $1,426,441 budget for the Council on Aging with a $5,972 net increase; councilors pressed staff on a shift from part‑time to full‑time program assistants, a new client database and the long‑dormant advisory council.
Martha Velez, director of Health and Human Services, told the Lawrence City Council on May 22 that the Council on Aging’s portion of the Health and Human Services budget is $1,426,441, an increase of $5,972 from the prior year.
The increase is largely tied to personnel changes, Velez said: the department replaced four part‑time program assistants with three full‑time program assistants to improve continuity of service and provide benefits. “It was hard to find part time, 18 hours a week with people not getting benefits,” Velez said. She added that moving those roles to 35 hours a week produced a modest increase in pay for the employees.
The change matters because the council on aging provides large-scale services to older residents:…
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