Sara Wall-Bollinger, executive director of Enable, testified before the New York State Assembly Ways and Means Committee Budget Hearing regarding Governor Paterson's Deficit Reduction Plan on October 23, 2009. Assemblyman Herman Farrell presided, and Upstate Assembly members Will Barclay, Joan Christensen, RoAnn Destito, Bill Magnarelli and Al Stirpe also listened to statements from citizens over a five hour session.

Wall-Bollinger emphasized the important role non-profit agencies play as employers. She noted that due to the high percentage of total expenses devoted to salary and fringe (85%), any significant budget cut from the State will result in the elimination of staff positions or salary reductions. These losses may jeopardize the health and well-being of some of New York's most vulnerable citizens.

Specifically with regard to Medicaid funding, Wall-Bollinger stated that New York fought hard last winter to increase federal financial participation in the Medicaid program. Now, for every dollar spent, 61cents comes from the federal government. She said it seems unreasonable to cut state dollars that generate such a beneficial amount of revenue.

When asked about how New York could save money, Wall-Bollinger pointed out that the state has overlapping and duplicative auditing procedures, and spends thousands of dollars annually on sub-contract audit firms.

She closed by reminding the Assembly members that there are still long waiting lists of people with developmental and physical disabilities who are seeking services.

"Even in this time of fiscal pressure, we must be creative and flexible enough to respond to the needs of our constituency," she emphasized.

This item was published on 23-Oct-09

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