Senior Council Statement

Statement from the Schoharie County Council of Senior Citizens, Inc. Specifically Responding to the Misinformation Presented at the Schoharie Board of Supervisors Special Board Meeting held on Thursday, September 11th, 2025 at 9:00 am

The Schoharie County Council of Senior Citizens, Inc. is a not-for-profit organization established in 1971 and incorporated in 1972. Our mission is to serve the aging population in Schoharie County and surrounding areas by promoting healthy, active lifestyles and enhancing quality of life through social, cultural, and recreational programs.

History with Schoharie County Transportation

Our involvement with transportation dates back to 1975 when the Senior Council purchased two vans to provide seniors with much-needed mobility. For decades, we contributed private funds to support this system. In 1998, however, the transportation program became public, serving all residents—not just seniors. At that point, the operation no longer aligned with the Senior Council’s mission, though oversight of certain contracts remained tied to our organization.

Ongoing Challenges

Over the past decade, and especially since 2015, our Council has faced increasing difficulties with the County’s Public Transportation and Medicaid contracts. These included:

Lack of access to critical vehicle and inspection information, which led to unforeseen DOT fines in 2020 placed against our operator number.

Escalating liability costs associated with employing drivers for services outside our mission, including workers’ compensation, unemployment, and insurance.

A mismatch between the County’s administrative reimbursement rate and the true costs we incur to employ over 45 contracted staff (we have been receiving the same Admin rate since 2013 of 9.5%, and that Administrative fee was never raised back to the original rate, and finally in 2022, the Senior Council asked for the Administrative Fee to be raised to 12% to more accurately cover the costs involved of employing all of these employees.  The County negotiated back and basically increased our administrative fee 10% the first year (a .5% increase); 10.5% increase the 2nd year (again a .5% increase); and currently for 2025 they raised it to the 11% Administrative Fee.  In consultation with our Accounting firm the current rate for Administrative rate in today’s economy is 25%).

Significant cash-flow strains on the Senior Council due to the County payrolls of $42,000 per bi-weekly payrolls and waiting sometimes up to 60 days for reimbursement, meaning the Senior Council is sometimes using over $160,000 of the not-for-profit’s cashflow to cover payroll.

Extreme turnover among transportation employees which forces us to continually onboard and train new staff at significant expense.

Despite meetings with County officials and adjustments to processes, these problems persisted.

Impact on Financials and Grant Funding

The way these contracts are structured also creates serious financial challenges. On paper, our organization appears to have a $1 million budget and 57 employees. In reality, our true operating budget is closer to $600,000, with 46 of those employees contracted to the County and outside of our control. The County—not the Senior Council—determines pay rates, raises, and other employment terms, yet all of this flows through our financial statements.

This misrepresentation makes our financials appear inflated and inconsistent when reviewed by auditors, foundations, and potential funders. Professional auditors have noted that these contracts hurt us financially and create confusion for Grantmakers who expect a small nonprofit of our size to have a streamlined budget and reporting process. For example:

Our Balance Sheet runs eight pages when a normal nonprofit our size would have two or three.

We are required to front the costs of drug testing, physicals, license tracking, and other employment-related expenses, only to wait for County reimbursement.

Having to use our limited Senior Council not-for-profit cash flow used to float County services places an undue burden on our operations and threatens the sustainability of our core mission.

Despite raising these concerns with the Director of Transportation and meetings with the County Administrator and County Oversight Chairperson, as well as reviewing them annually with our Senior Council Board, the situation never improved.

Contract Decisions

In 2024, the County abruptly attempted to terminate our Office for the Aging contract without proper oversight or authorization. This created unnecessary distress for our long-term employees and highlighted the instability of these contractual relationships. Professional auditors also advised us that the contracts were financially harmful and complicated our ability to secure outside grants.

For these reasons, our Board made the difficult but necessary decision to end our contracts for Public Transportation and Medicaid. This choice was made after years of evaluation, consultation with financial planners, and concern for the long-term stability of our not-for-profit organization.

Our Mission Going Forward

The Senior Council’s mission has always been to support individuals aged 50 and older. Transportation for the entire county population was never part of that mission. Going forward, our focus remains on:

Operating The Gathering Place 50 Plus Community Centers in Cobleskill and Oneonta.

Providing opportunities for socialization, preventive health, and lifelong learning.

Continuing programs such as the highly successful monthly Veterans Luncheon, which we will host independently to ensure this valued service continues.

Closing

We regret the misinformation shared at the September 11th, 2025 Board of Supervisors meeting. The decision to step away from County contracts was not abrupt nor irresponsible. It was the result of long-standing challenges, financial risks, and a commitment to remain true to our mission of serving older adults.

We remain proud of the work we do and will continue to advocate for and support the aging population in Schoharie County and beyond.

Respectfully Submitted by: 

Kimberly Witkowski, Executive Director and CEO of the Schoharie County Council of Senior Citizens, Inc.

September 15, 2025