By LARRY MAIER
Here we go again.
That's what Claudia Rotondo, the director of the Baldwin Council Against Drug Abuse, is thinking right about now.
For the fifth year in a row, Nassau County has informed Rotondo that BCADA's January money will not be arriving until the middle of March, even though New York State released the funds to the county in December. This means that the agency's staff and bills will have to go unpaid for at least three months.
Rotondo explained that nonprofit organizations like BCADA are mandated by state law to carry a zero balance into each year. The county is under contract to pay these agencies advance money in January so that they can pay staff, rent, utilities, and other operational expenses. These advance payments are meant to tide the agency over until the reimbursement process from the county becomes fully operational.
The annual delays in payments have left Rotondo wondering whether the county is trying to send a message to BCADA and other county-funded agencies that provide the community with services to combat substance abuse.
I'm not saying they want us out of here,said Rotondo, sitting in her sparse office at 950 Church Street. But if we weren't here it would give them more money to play with.
This year is especially difficult for Rotondo because of the recent loss of her husband, Louis Rotondo, a former vice-principal at Bethpage High School and Baldwin school board trustee. He died last June after a six-month battle with lung cancer.
Emotionally, it is very taxing. You hope that when one part of your life disintegrates that the other parts stay stable,said Rotondo. This is not stable.
Faced with the prospect of no paychecks for at least three months, Rotondo said that staff morale is at an all-time low.
My employees have bills to pay too,said Rotondo. BCADA employs two social workers, three psychologists, a secretary and a bookkeeper. There are also ten unpaid interns who work for the agency. I'm sure no one in the county works for three months without a paycheck. Why do they expect us to do what they won't?
