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The Vernon County Unit on Aging Committee’s preliminary budget includes the cuts.
The budget would close Viroqua meal site No. 1 and the Chaseburg meal site and reduce services at the Ontario and Hillsboro sites. The Ontario meal site would be serve seniors once a month, and the Hillsboro site would serve meals once a week.
The county operates 12 meal sites that provide meals for senior citizens as a part of a nutrition program. Senior citizens who choose to partake in meals are asked to give a $3.75 donation. The donations generally cover about 30 percent of the cost of running a meal site, Vernon County Unit on Aging Director Pat Peterson said.
Peterson said she agonized over the decision, but with less money and increased costs, the department has no choice but to cut services. The county finance committee has asked all county departments to hold to a zero increase in county tax dollars.
For many departments, that will mean reducing staff and services because fixed costs will increase.
Peterson picked these meal sites because she is hoping to minimize the impact of the cuts. These sites either have other sites nearby or get the least amount of use. Viroqua’s meal site No. 1 was operating out of a building off Main Street. Peterson said Viroqua’s second meal site is just a few blocks away and can accommodate more people.
Peterson said Chaseburg meal site users can go to Stoddard or Coon Valley, and there will be opportunities to use county transportation to get there. Peterson said the numbers at the Ontario and Hillsboro meal sites were low, so those sites were also chosen for reductions.
