Funding toward three senior meal programs is hanging in the balance as the OC Board of Supervisors clash over whether to extend contracts for two providers that had engaged in legal disputes with the county.
Read more US says it plans extra tariffs of 10% or more for most trading partners after forced labor probe
The annual contracts, worth about $23 million total, would fund support services from a host of local nonprofits and healthcare providers, including Meals on Wheels OC, Age Well Senior Services, Abrazar, Community Legal Aid SoCal, Council on Aging Southern California, Hope Community Services and Providence St. Jude Medical Center.
Long-running programs for meal delivery, medical transportation, case management and elder abuse prevention could be suspended July 1 if the contracts are not renewed.
The contracts failed to garner enough support at the board’s May 19 meeting, with only Supervisors Doug Chaffee and Katrina Foley voting in favor. Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento was absent.
Foley has requested a revote.
Supervisor Don Wagner voted against the contracts, citing his ongoing concerns with two vendors in particular: Meals on Wheels and Age Well. Supervisor Janet Nguyen abstained.
The county sued the nonprofits in 2022 to recover unused pandemic funds they had received through the Great Plates program, saying Meals on Wheels was obliged to return more than $14 million and Age Well more than $8 million. The groups refused, saying county leaders had told them to use the money to continue providing services to seniors, according to reporting from the Voice of OC. The two sides in 2023, with the nonprofits agreeing to return $14 million to the county.
“The litigation did get settled, but the county was not compensated 100% on the dollar,” Wagner said, adding that he wanted county staff to consider new providers.
Nguyen said she supported the senior services programs, but agreed with Wagner that the county should look to contract with other nonprofits.
“My concern goes back to the lawsuit to get money back,” she said. “Why do we continue to do business with organizations that cause problems?”
Leaders with Meals on Wheels OC and Age Well said in statements that each organization has “had a successful and productive partnership with the County of Orange spanning decades. We look forward to the Orange County Board of Supervisors reconsidering the contract renewal at a future meeting.”
Read more Oil prices climb back toward $100, but US stocks hang near their records
Foley said the contract dispute with Meals on Wheels and Age Well was over a communication issue and that county staff have assured her the vendors are in “good standing” with the county.
“We had a problem, we mediated the dispute, negotiated the dispute and resolved it,” she said. “We’ve voted on contracts with both these providers two or three times since then, and we’ve not had problems.”
The contracts at stake affect more than just Meals on Wheels and Age Well, Foley said. The proposed agreements would fund more than 1.25 million meals for older adults, up to 130,000 rides to medical appointments and transportation support for roughly 23,000 seniors, according to estimates from Foley’s office.
“My bigger concern is what happens to the older frail adult who needs a ride to the hospital, who needs a meal,” she said.
Foley, a Democrat, also criticized her Republican colleagues for playing “political games” and trying to undermine her reelection campaign against Assemblymember Diane Dixon, R-Newport Beach, ahead of Tuesday’s primary.
Wagner and Nguyen both said their opposition to the contract renewals had nothing to do with politics.
Foley “keeps saying it’s political, but it’s not,” Wagner said. “That’s her unwillingness to address issues on the merit. I’ve been saying this for years now, the problems with these vendors.”
The Board of Supervisors’ May 19 meeting turned combative as Wagner and Nguyen accused Foley of directing county staff to halt herbicide spraying in local creeks across the county without seeking board approval first. Foley argued she was only relaying the announcement on the agency’s behalf.
The contracts will be discussed with another vote expected at the supervisors’ June 9 meeting, at which all five supervisors are expected to be in attendance.
Read more Spotting a deadly melanoma often takes a handheld device. Does your doctor have one?