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Livermore nonprofits urge council to shore up services as federal funding threatens cuts
Summary
Tri Valley nonprofit leaders told the Livermore City Council on April 28 that potential federal and state funding cuts put Meals on Wheels, child-care subsidies and the region’s only domestic-violence shelter at risk; councilmembers expressed support and the vice mayor asked staff to include nonprofits in the city budget workshop.
Marty Sutton, board chair of the Tri Valley Nonprofit Alliance, told the Livermore City Council on April 28 that local service providers face “fear” about deepening budget cuts and urged city leaders to amplify nonprofit needs to other policymakers. "Our service providers are under great threat from severe budget cuts that will derail the work they are doing to support our residents," Sutton said.
Several nonprofit leaders followed with concrete examples of how cuts would affect residents. John Boss, executive director of Open Heart Kitchen, said a small percentage reduction at the federal level could translate into significant local impacts. "Just a 5% cut or roughly $1,400,000 would rip the safety net wide open," he said, listing increased hunger, homelessness and unmet mental-health needs as likely consequences.
Carrie Olds, Meals on Wheels program manager for Spectrum Community Services, described seniors who rely on daily meal deliveries for nutrition and social contact and said cutting the program would shorten lives and reduce essential checks on isolated residents. Mary Heckle, CEO of Hively, said child-care subsidies are a pathway to work and education for single parents and that funding losses would strip families of early-learning supports.
Christine Beach Bahmani of CityServe and Christine Dillman of Tri Valley Haven described their organizations’ roles connecting residents to housing, food, transportation and counseling. Dillman noted Tri Valley Haven operates the Tri Valley area’s confidential domestic-violence shelter and said it serves about 100 victims annually; she warned that reduced funding would force survivors to return to unsafe situations.
Councilmembers responded with appreciation and sympathy. Mayor Marchand thanked speakers for their work and noted the community’s history of private and public support for human services. Vice Mayor (speaker 4) later said he would bring three matters forward: sending letters to state legislators about SB 79 (see separate coverage), placing a request to fly the pride flag in June on the consent calendar, and prioritizing discussion of nonprofit support in the upcoming budget workshop.
The council did not adopt a new funding measure at the meeting. The vice mayor asked staff to explore feasible additions to the general fund and to include nonprofits’ needs in the budget workshop discussion scheduled ahead of the next fiscal cycle.
What’s next: The vice mayor’s request will appear as a matter initiated for the budget workshop; council direction to staff and any specific general-fund allocations would require follow-up actions during the budget process.
