Senate hearing: Office on Aging warns service cuts could jeopardize federal grants

The Office on Aging told a Senate budget committee on July 24 that proposed reductions in local budget support and the possible loss of federal grants would sharply squeeze services for older residents across Saipan, Tinian and Rota.

At a hearing on the Department of Community and Cultural Affairs’ (DCCA) budget, Walter Manglona, director of the Office on Aging, described a steady rise in clients and said the office had requested eight additional full‑time positions and $300,000 to shore up the nutrition program. He told senators the office currently delivers about 104 meals daily for homebound clients and served 41,000 congregate/homebound meals in the past year; demand has risen 20–30% this year.

“Food items. This is the bulk of my request. Conservatively, I was asking for $300,000,” Manglona said, describing current per‑meal costs in Saipan of about $3.75 and warning the program could exhaust its contract funds by November without supplemental local support. He said the program has used unspent federal funds from prior years as a temporary safety net but those carryover balances are nearly gone.

Why it matters: The Office on Aging is a formula recipient of federal Older Americans Act funding; if local matching or maintenance‑of‑effort language is not visible in the local budget, federal grantors could investigate, place funds on hold, or convert formula funding to competitive awards, the office said. That could remove steady funding for the area’s elder abuse prevention, caregiver support and meal delivery services.

Details and context

The director said the office’s budget includes 12 federal FTEs and five local FTEs, and that personnel and operational shortfalls (notably utilities and vehicle maintenance) threaten the program’s ability to meet grant conditions. Manglona said the CNMI’s Office on Aging is currently allowed a five‑year spend‑down for certain federal funds, and staff have used prior‑year carryover to avoid touching food‑specific dollars; those carryover reserves are nearly depleted.

Senators pressed for specifics. Manglona said the office requested eight additional FTEs at an estimated cost of $387,818 to add staff including cooks for Tinian and Rota, bus drivers and administrative support, and asked for roughly $60,000 to buy two mini‑SUVs for meal delivery. He said restoring a per‑meal allocation and adding a modest milk benefit would cost about another $200,000.

Committee members asked how utilities and indirect costs are handled. Office on Aging staff said many federal grants assess indirect costs (IDC) that currently are collected centrally; some agencies have proposed budget language to return a portion of those IDCs to program offices. The office urged the legislature to consider restoring some local operating lines — especially utilities and program operations — to avoid “supplanting” problems when federal grant reviewers check whether state/local funds were included.

Discussion vs. decisions

The hearing recorded discussion, budget requests and clarifying answers; senators did not take final votes on appropriation levels during the session. Committee members signaled interest in exploring whether indirect cost language in budget bills could allow agencies to access a portion of IDC receipts, and asked staff to supply written follow‑up on items not covered during the hearing.

Speakers quoted in this article are listed in the article’s speaker section.

Ending

Office on Aging officials said they will submit follow‑up written details and asked the Senate to consider restoring or adding modest local operating funds to preserve meals, utilities and staff capacity. The committee did not set final appropriation amounts at the hearing.