Larchmont Committees Doing O.K.; Not LMCCC

While the Larchmont Public Library budget dominated the agenda of Monday night's Larchmont Board of Trustees budget work session, other commissions also presented their proposals that night.

A compelling and poignant presentation was given by Dr. Mark Levy and Jane Orans of the Larchmont-Mamaroneck Community Counseling Center, a public, non-profit organization that serves local residents regardless of race, beliefs or financial ability. The center is supported by the local municipalities, the public school system and the New York State Office of Alcohol and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS). 

With the uncertainty of how New York State and our school district's budget cuts will go, plus the recent loss of its United Way of Larchmont-Mamaroneck funding, the LMCCC is in a very vulnerable position. This comes at a time when the need for its services is in more demand- the center is functioning at 100 percent capacity with waiting lists for all its programs.

Dr. Levy noted that while the LMCCC has not received any increase from the Village of Larchmont for the past two years, it is now requesting funding of $45,000, an increase of $5,000. It also plans to ask for additional funds from the Village of Mamaroneck, Town of Mamaroneck and the Mamaroneck Board of Education. Unfortunately, funding for the counseling center is among the school board's proposed cuts.

In brighter news, Nili Asherie with the Committee on the Arts was pleased to announce that she came in under budget again this year. With $3,500 slated for the concert series, the committee actually only spent $1,150 by utilizing local musicians who generously waived their fees. With a budget of $1,000 for an art show, the committee spent $412. She expected to have similar experiences this year.

Asherie proposed that the next art show be steered toward the fine arts. She also offered to approach the Chamber of Commerce with the idea of providing temporary art for display to fill the empty storefronts that are becoming more commonplace in Larchmont.

Lastly, the Traffic Commission, led by Rob Rothman and Maria Stanton, called attention to two line items in its proposed budget. The commission requested $5,000 for signs and an additional $5,000 for consulting fees. Having lost the free professional guidance services once provided by AAA, the Commission felt strongly that such funding needed to be put in place to deal with future traffic and accident issues.