To the Editor:
On behalf of the board of directors of Senior Services of Alexandria (SSA), we are writing to express concern about proposed cuts to the Alexandria City budget which will have an unfair and unprecedented negative impact on the most vulnerable seniors in our community.
Since 1968, SSA has helped Alexandria’s seniors age with independence, self-sufficiency and dignity. The proposed changes to the Real Estate Tax Relief Program for the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities and the total elimination of the Senior Taxi Program are in stark contrast to the well-planned goals of the Strategic Plan on Aging, which was approved by City Council in 2012. Housing and transportation were identified as key areas of importance, and critical to this is the Plan’s objective to support in certain instances older Alexandria residents’ desire to live their remaining years in their homes and community.
The steep cuts in property tax relief for elderly, lower-income homeowners will force many to abandon their homes in order to meet their other and basic essential needs to maintain their respect and dignity. Moreover, the Senior Taxi Program, whose budget was already halved just this past year, provides safe and reliable transportation for nearly 400 income-qualified residents, who use it primarily for medical appointments.
Because it appears that the potentially affected homeowners and Senior Taxi Program participants have not been notified of the proposed changes, before the budget cuts are indiscriminately applied we ask that further consideration be given to these issues.
While we recognize that City Council shoulders a heavy burden in adopting a fiscally responsible budget, it should renew and not undermine its past commitment to Alexandria’s less fortunate seniors, particularly those with very limited resources.
We welcome the opportunity to sit down and discuss a compassionate and fiscally responsible strategy for the foreseeable future.
Gregg Murphy, Chair of the Board of Directors
Mary Lee Anderson, Executive Director
Senior Services of Alexandria