By John C. O'Connell
In hearings scheduled to solicit public opinion on the budget before the legislature votes on Oct. 28, lawmakers were told of the good these social service agencies do, the hardships wrought by previous budget reductions and the painful consequences further cuts would bring. Suozzi's proposed $2.2 billion budget includes $6.5 million for Youth Board services.
We are here because we need to speak out about proposed cuts that are being made on top of 50 percent cuts the Nassau County Youth Board took in 1999, some of which have been partially restored and some of which haven't been, said Erica Edwards-O'Neal, director of Fight for Families Coalition, an organization of agencies funded through the county Youth Board. The proposed four-year plan calls for the eventual elimination of funding by 2004 of all discretionary human services spending, Edwards-O'Neal told the Herald before the hearing.
Referring to the several dozens of people at the meeting with her, Edwards-O'Neal told the legislature, This is a mere sample of the citizens outraged by and just plain terrified of these human services cuts. There is something very wrong with a budget that slashes services for youth.
Susan Peitler of the Five Towns Community Center told the legislators not to allow more funds to be cut. The center stands to lose more than $30,000 in the proposed cuts.
We are talking about the Inwood, North Lawrence area which is having troubles. I'm saying that without youth services there will be more trouble. You might as well put guns in their pockets and say,
