In yet another indication of the building pushback we've been noticing against across-the-board government cuts and efficiencies, the Daily Freeman reports today that Ulster County officials have scuttled, for now, a plan to replace the hot meals delivered daily to homebound senior citizens with frozen meals delivered weekly. Deputy County Executive Robert Sudlow said on Thursday that legislative “pushback” to the proposal, promted by concerns from seniors and citizens, prompted the decision to abandon the pilot project, which was to start in January. A number of legislators voiced concerns about the loss of daily contact with seniors that the change would cause, he said. Instead, Sudlow said, the administration of County Executive Michael Hein will spend the next three months answering the myriad questions that have been raised about the Meals on Wheels program and the potential impact of the proposed shift to less frequent deliveries of microwavable meals. Sudlow added that the original decision to switch from hot meals delivered daily to frozen meals delivered weekly was driven by program costs and demand. Meals on Wheels is a state- and federally funded program. For 2010, Ulster County received $1.03 million, but the program saw a $125,000 shortfall, which the county had to make up.

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