Tiburon Commission on Aging reports $100,000 local funding gap and pilots volunteer carpool program

During general public comment at the Aug. 6 Tiburon Town Council meeting, Jane Gould, a representative of Tiburon's Commission on Aging, briefed the council on three items: changes in the commission's executive board, an estimated $100,000 local funding shortfall following a state reauthorization, and a proposed volunteer driver program for seniors and people with disabilities.

Gould said the commission is reorganizing its executive board to be "more responsive" to the supervisors it reports to and to focus on priorities identified by those supervisors. She said a reauthorization bill enacted July 4 led to the county losing an estimated $100,000 in funds that normally support Medicaid-related services and nutrition for older residents. County health and human services staff, she said, are "confident" they will find ways to mitigate the shortfall but did not provide specific replacement sources at the meeting.

Gould also described efforts to launch a volunteer driver program modeled on Sausalito's CARS program (a volunteer driver service that began in 2015). She said Tiburon is coordinating with neighboring Belvedere and Mill Valley, and that Marin Villages and other local organizations may share software and support. The program aims to provide rides for elderly and disabled residents who live beyond paratransit eligibility (Gould said residents living more than three-quarters of a mile from bus service are not eligible for paratransit). Gould said the first interjurisdictional meeting on the program is expected in mid-August.

Council members received the updates during the public-comment period; no council action was taken at the meeting. Gould's remarks were presented as informational and the town will await further staff or commission follow-up on funding solutions and program design.