The Northern Star reported Wednesday that the DeKalb City Council has adopted a plan to decrease funding to human services organizations.

Human services organizations range from the Volunteer Action Center’s Meals on Wheels to Safe Passage, which provides services such as short and long-term housing for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault as well as counseling, crisis intervention and more.

Originally, the plan included the elimination of funding for these organizations altogether, but the council decided otherwise to continue its funding and re-evaluate the plan the next fiscal year.

These cuts, however, are not small.

The original plan was to reduce funding to human services by $50,000 each year for five years.
The council cut $62,000 this year, said Assistant City Manager Rudy Espiritu.

Considering the recession, human services has probably foreseen a tighter budget.

The majority of the cuts have come as a result of the state’s fiscal crisis, and understandably so.

The City of DeKalb is no exception to the state of the economy, so this plan to cut some funding comes as no surprise.

Should human service organizations be upset, or should they understand the current circumstances?

Well, take a look at the DeKalb’s City Council minutes online (for the public to see), and one can find the first matter on its agenda: “consideration of further discussion on the pedestrian pass through design and bids.”

What is the pedestrian pass through?

It is a neat idea to help renew DeKalb’s downtown area; a walkway that would include an overhead canopy, handrails and light fixtures along the path.

It is a projected $200,000 to $250,000 project.

Earlier in this article, one may have wondered what the total savings of $50,000 each year for five years would equal.

For those of you who are non-mathematics majors, it is $250,000.

Senior citizens that need their food delivered to them because they cannot get it themselves may not find too much humor in the irony that the Meals on Wheels program they relied on is being cut and the amount of money saved is being used on a walkway.

Sure, all city employees were asked to make wage adjustments and the economy is in a bad state.

But human services organizations do a lot of helpful, necessary volunteer work for the community.

When re-evaluation rolls around the next fiscal year, don’t cut these organizations’ funds.

Cut them a break.

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