Darien to Keep Funding DuPage Senior Group at 2010 Levels, Despite Request for More

‘Tis the season for giving, but the city of Darien says it can only afford to give so much. 

is set to vote Monday on donating $22,000 to the DuPage Senior Citizens Council (DSCC), an amount similar to what it has given over the past several years. The city preliminarily approved that amount in April when it voted on this year’s budget. 

But due to delayed and reduced state and federal funding, Assistant City Administrator Scott Coren said Nov. 14 the DSCC has requested $35,360 from the city to help support its services for senior citizens in Darien. 

“We told them we didn’t anticipate this, and I couldn’t foresee city doing more than we budgeted or planned for,” said Coren during .

Within DuPage County, the Lombard-based DSCC operates the Meals on Wheels food delivery program, does wellness checks, and performs home repairs and yard clean up for the elderly.

DSCC is set to receive $34,723 for programs in Darien from state and federal sources, which comes to about 44 percent of its operating costs in town, according to a report. Seniors donate about $8,893, or about 11 percent of the operating costs in Darien. 

That leaves a more than $35,000 gap. 

“Community support is needed now more than ever to maintain service levels for seniors and avoid cutting critical life saving components,” reads a memo DSCC sent to the city. Executive Director Marylin Krolak was unavailable for comment. 

Meals comprise the bulk of the services DSCC provides for Darien. The group delivered 6,500 meals to 60 Darien seniors during the past 12 months, the memo said. Each meal cost roughly $8. 

The group also did 25 minor home and yard services, such as fixing leaky faucets and raking lawns, for 20 Darien seniors.

Nearly 75 percent of the seniors aided by the program are at or below poverty level, the report said.

Several nearby communities have eliminated donations to DSCC within the past several years.

Downers Grove stopped funding the program in fiscal year 2010 after contributing nearly $40,000 in 2009, according to a DSCC report. Bensenville, Bloomingdale, Addison and Villa Park have all eliminated their DSCC funding within the past several years. 

Other communities have increased their donations. Westmont pumped up its donation from $17,000 in 2009 to $24,000 during each of the past two years. Naperville gave $15,000 in both 2010 and 2011 after no donation in 2009. 

In total, the group received $227,730 from DuPage municipalities in 2011, up from $211,860 in 2010. 

The group calculates how much it requests from each town based on the number of seniors in need who live there, Krolak wrote in a  published in April in Downers Grove Patch. Each community’s donation stays local.

“Support from each municipality goes directly to underwrite the cost gap of seniors served in that municipality—our records support that fact,” she wrote. 

Coren said that DSCC continues to provide services to DuPage communities that reduce or eliminate their contributions.

The resolution authorizing Darien to donate $22,000 is on the consent agenda for Monday’s City Council Meeting, meaning it will be approved without discussion unless the council moves to shift it to new business.

The following table shows municipal pledges to the DuPage Senior Citizens Council during the past three fiscal years:

Source: DuPage Senior Citizens Council