
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, April 13, 1994                   TAG: 9404130103
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV-3   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: By RICK LINDQUIST STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RADFORD                                LENGTH: Medium

RADFORD SEEKS STATE'S HELP WITH SOCIAL-SERVICE SHORTFALL

Services at the city's Welfare and Social Services Office could be cut back or the agency might be forced to close its doors for a few days for lack of money, City Councilman Bob Nicholson said Monday.

"We're going back to the state one more time to plead for the extra money to complete the year," said Nicholson, who also sits on the city's Welfare Board. "There's no room left to trim."

The board will ask the state to cover a projected $9,000 shortfall in administrative money so the department can get through its fiscal year, which ends May 31.

"It happens every year," Welfare Board Chairman Doyle Barton said Tuesday. "It seems the state mandates but does not fund."

The city is in a legal Catch-22 because it must stay open but cannot overspend its budget, Barton said. But he said the agency could be forced to close or cut back under a "worst-case scenario." If the state does not come through, the Welfare Board would turn to City Council for help, he said.

"We're playing their game," he said of Richmond.

The city has asked state Sen. Malfourd "Bo" Trumbo and Del. Thomas Baker to help in getting the additional funding.

Welfare Department Superintendent Suzanne Glass emphasized Tuesday that her office is working "to keep services from being curtailed in any manner."

Barton said a burgeoning client load already has resulted in year-end cutbacks in some programs, including day care, as program funds have run low.

In other matters, a formal hearing on the city's $39.9 million budget drew no comments Monday. Tax rates will remain the same as this year's.

Council put off a final vote on the budget until its April 25 meeting to allow for some last-minute fine tuning, City Manager Robert Asbury said.

Also at the council meeting:

City Engineer Jim Hurt said the ice storm cleanup has cost the city $352,000 so far. He predicted the job would be done by mid-May.

Council learned that a new recreation facility has been "conceptualized." Councilman Gary Weddle said the Recreation Commission wants the new building to be a community center.

Council appropriated $15,350 to fix problems at the now-closed Park Road landfill cited by the state Department of Environmental Quality.

Council agreed to spend $7,289 for tree maintenance.

by CNB