By ALLISON BOURG, Staff Writer, Published 03/10/09

 

Five cents may not be much these days, Kate Rollason said as she passed out nickels last week to a roomful of county lawmakers.  But those nickels add up, said Rollason, executive director of the Arc of the Central Chesapeake Region. If enough are collected, perhaps the state can solve the funding crisis plaguing developmental disabilities providers.

 

Rollason and other representatives of county disabilities agencies stood before the county legislative delegation in Annapolis Friday morning, asking lawmakers to support a joint House and Senate bill to increase the state's excise tax on alcoholic beverages by five cents. 

 

The measure could raise $80 million in funding for the state Developmental Disabilities Administration, as well as alcohol- and drug-treatment programs, officials said. The bill was sponsored by Montgomery County Democrats Del. Bill Bronrott and Sen. Rich Madaleno. Dels. Ben Barnes and Joseline Pena-Melnyk, two College Park Democrats who also represent Jessup and Laurel in Anne Arundel, co-sponsored the bill.

 

"It's a 5-cent tax on alcohol," Rollason said. "Bars aren't going to lose any money. And people probably won't even notice it." But nonprofit agencies might, she and other agency heads said. About 19,000 developmentally disabled Marylanders are on the waiting list for state-funded services. About 1,100 of those residents live in Anne Arundel County, and some have been waiting for services for years. "We all know times are tight," Rollason said. "But the underfunding was there when times were booming."

Costs for agencies have also soared in recent years, while funding stays flat, said Vicki Callahan, executive director of Opportunity Builders Inc. in Millersville. Between 2002 and 2009, the state increased funding for agencies' operating expenses by 7 percent.

 

Yet expenses such as fuel, rent and utilities went up an estimated 28 percent, she said. Three years ago the General Assembly passed a law asking the governor to include in his yearly budget a cost-of-living increase for providers. The recommended increase is set by the Community Services Reimbursement Rate Commission, but subject to state budget limitations.

 

This year, Gov. Martin O'Malley's budget calls for a 1 percent increase, far short of the 3.58 percent recommended. One of the biggest problems is the underfunding of direct-care workers' salaries, Callahan said. "The state reimburses us at a rate of $9.13 per hour, but we can't pay people $9.13 per hour; we'd never have anyone," Callahan said. "So we make up the difference."

"Where do you get the money?" Del. Steve Schuh, R-Gibson Island, asked. Callahan said OBI does as much fundraising as it can.

 

Arnold Dordick, executive director of Annapolis-based Langton Green Inc., which works with people with developmental disabilities, said the agency copes by slashing line items from the budget. For example, the agency might wait several years to renovate one of its residential homes, he said. Dordick pointed out that Maryland ranks 43rd in the nation in funding of developmental disabilities services, even though it's one of the wealthiest states in the country. "That's pretty embarrassing," Dordick said.

 

Mitzi Bernard, executive director of the United Cerebral Palsy of Southern Maryland, said her agency's direct-care staff has a 52 percent turnover rate. The reason? The starting salary is only $9.50 per hour, "and that's pretty tight to live here," Bernard said. Theresa Sims of Glen Burnie is one of cerebral palsy's direct-care workers. Sims told delegates she loves her job and considers her clients family.

 

"I do have a spouse, and without him, I would not be able to stay with UCP," Sims said. "We're always short-staffed ... a lot of our staff is single parents. Some of them are working two, sometimes three, jobs."

The delegates were sympathetic to the agencies' plights. Delegation Chairwoman Mary Ann Love,

D-Glen Burnie, told providers the delegation would send a letter to the governor's office, outlining the struggle developmental disabilities providers face. "We would be happy to do that," she said. The Senate bill is scheduled to go the Budget and Taxation Committee on March 18.

 

Love said after the hearing that it's hard to tell whether the proposal bill has a shot at passing the General Assembly. "It's hard to say when you're talking about taxes, even though this is a very worthy cause," Love said. "We're going to have to have some discussions about it.(The agencies) definitely need some help."