Judy Wilcox, 2nd District Supervisor
In my last installment for the North Isthmus Reader, I bemoaned the loss
of state and federal funds. The loss makes the county budget process even
more difficult than usual. The climate has not changed. In my role as
a member of the Aging Commission the reality of the federal cuts in the
Older Americans Act recently came home to roost. The Aging Commission was
forced to make recommendations to reduce the county aging budget by $51,000,
revenue we expected to receive through Older Americans Act funding.
As a consequence of the reduction, nutrition sites will now serve a soup
and sandwich meal one day a week. The planned expansion of transportation
services will be reduced. For Older American Act funded programs a two percent
decrease will be implemented for the purchase of service agencies, and fewer
dollars will be available for Supportive Homecare for older persons. This
reduction in service comes at a time when we are working harder to try and
help the older members of our community to stay in their homes and to remain
independent for as long as possible. The Second District is home to a significant
number of older persons and it distresses me to see the cuts we have to
make hitting so close to home.
One of the positive things that has occurred recently is the presentation
to the county board of the Report of Results and Recommendations developed
by the Dane County Committee to Evaluate Commuter Rail Implementation.
The committee concluded that the future of Dane County must include plans
for commuter rail. This is great news for those of us in the Isthmus who
have longed to see consideration of alternative forms of transportation
that would relieve the pressure of traffic and the use of the automobile.
If you are interested in a copy of the report, please contact me at 255-8913.
I was delighted to receive a copy of the proposal by the Tenney-Lapham Neighborhood
Association, to the Dane County Cultural Affairs Committee, to develop a
Tenney-Lapham Walking Tour brochure. This would be a wonderful addition
to the walking guides currently in place for the central city area and the
implementation of one of the recommendations of the Neighborhood Steering
Committee. The proposal is a sound one and I have indicated my support
for the proposal to Cultural Affairs Commission members. What a great way
to show off the neighborhood.
The recent election kept me very busy, although I did not have a race this
year. I've been involved with a Political Action Committee called Citizens
for Dane County's Future. This PAC took a very assertive role in the recruitment
and promotion of progressive candidates in the March elections. We were
fortunate to have lined up a very impressive group of candidates in 30 races.
We are excited that we have regained the majority on the board and will
work together to chart a new course toward a strong, healthy future for
Dane County.