WHEATLAND – Transparency, honesty and real answers: That is what the public has been asking for, and that is what the Services for Seniors, Inc. and CALC boards both desire to give regarding the state of the finances and services provided at the senior centers in Platte County.
Last week, Services for Seniors, Inc. (SFS) and Community Action of Laramie County (CALC) held three public meetings to hear the questions, concerns, and comments from seniors in Wheatland and Guernsey. The boards of both non-profit agencies were on hand to share what has been happening in the last few months and explain why they were unable to give any real answers to questions until the last week or so.
Addressing its second crowd of the day at the Wheatland Senior Center on Thursday, CALC CEO Tim Ernst said simply, the reason answers were not given to inquiries from the public before now is because they were still in the process of finding answers and wanted to ensure they had accurate information to give.
Ernst said he and the CALC board take full responsibility for lack of transparency over the last few months. “We have been – as somebody put it – firemen putting out a fire that keeps growing and we don’t have time to take a break for coffee. We are at a point now we feel this is a perfect time [to share what’s been going on.]”
He explained CALC has had a contract to administer state funds for a $21,000 Community Service Block Grant (CSBG) to SFS, and has two Platte County representatives on its board, Malcolm Ervin and Sarah Sellars. When SFS board chairwoman Blanche Thorson asked for help since the board was struggling to make payroll without using a credit card, Ernst and the CALC board agreed to help.
Ernst said his heart goes out to the people of Platte County, having spent a lot of time here and working with SFS in the past. He didn’t hesitate to offer (for free) the services of his qualified management team from CALC. The two privately owned non-profits, CALC and SFS, entered into a management contract beginning Oct. 1, 2024, where the management of funds and employees transferred to CALC in order to get to the bottom of the issues.
While waiting for the full set of financial books to arrive on Nov. 1, CALC immediately set to work getting the senior center management agency (SFS) current on all their bills and invoices. Their human resources manager also offered benefits to SFS employees and raised their vacation and sick time. When the accounting books arrived, CALC’s Chief Financial Officer, Mikey Stout, has been working hundreds of hours and on weekends combing through every invoice and income receipt to figure out exactly where SFS is in their finances, and to help identify why the senior center administrators have shown a zero or negative balance for several years.
“We identified several areas of what the problem was. One main area was staffing. The other was food cost,” Ernst said.
The center was spending $55,000 on payroll every month, and an average of $30,000 on food costs. After those issues were identified in November, both CALC and SFS boards had some “hard conversations,” Ernst explained. With the seriousness of the position SFS was in, they would not have made payroll in November if CALC did not choose to utilize a line of credit with their bank to help cover those costs. A total of $106,000 has been extended by CALC, and it is estimated no more than $160,000 will be extended at the end of their contract with SFS on March 15.
After analyzing the services provided at four centers in Platte County overseen by SFS (in Glendo, Chugwater, Guernsey and Wheatland), both boards agreed there was an issue with overstaffing. The decision was made to lay off four people and reduce two people from full-time to part-time.
“That cut our payroll and has saved us $6,000 per month. Take that times 12 and look at the cost savings,” Ernst said.
The food bill was able to be reduced by $7,000, saving another average of $84,000 a year.

SFS director Jeni DeSmith said (in an earlier interview with the Gazette) she has been going over every contract and seeing which ones are not necessary (such as water delivery service) and negotiating to see what can be reduced, such as the linen and rug sanitation service – which she has been able to reduce nearly by half. DeSmith also said employees – including herself – are helping with maintaining and cleaning their own workspaces and lending a hand to other employees when needed.
One of the issues SFS was having, was there wasn’t money coming in, but a lot going out. As explained by CALC board member Malcolm Ervin, grants are complicated, and each have varying requirements on when they need to be applied for annually and when reports need to be submitted. They also don’t just send a check: the grantee must pay the invoices as they come in, then submit a “draw-down” from the grant administrator before payment is issued.
To get paid from a grant there are financial reporting requirements that also must be done. Basically, there’s a lot of paperwork. CALC has been helping get SFS back on track to draw down state and federal grant funds allocated to them, and the first thing that had to happen to do that was to get their accounting books cleared up. Ernst said CALC is finishing up this week with the full accounting of the finances for SFS, and when they are done, they can back it up 100 percent, down to the penny. They have been helping get SFS back on track with when to submit paperwork for the 12 different grants they receive.
CALC is not the only ones who have had a hand in helping SFS out of a hard place. Ernst explained, in November, they were just finding out there was no money coming in from the grants. He said the Platte County Senior District board “have been lifesavers. They gave us a $174,000 advance to get through these hard times. We appreciate that.”
The senior district board is not to be confused with the SFS non-profit board. The senior district board is elected by the general electorate to oversee funds gathered from a 2 mil levy on property taxes in Platte County. Ervin, who is also the county clerk, said their job is to ensure the tax funds are used solely to help the senior population in Platte County. They grant approximately $540,000 to Services for Seniors, Inc. yearly to operate the senior centers in Glendo, Chugwater, Guernsey and Wheatland
Ernst said the advance from the senior district board will help SFS get on track to be able to bill the state with a draw-down. Now, there will start to be money coming back in to be able to give more breathing room.
“We started with a deficit…and where we are now is we are starting to see the money start to flow again, even though it is slow,” Ernst said.
Aside from finances, CALC has also recommended changes with the dietitian which has been utilized by SFS. The senior centers are required by law to have all their meals approved by a registered dietitian, and SFS has been utilizing the dietitian provided by their food service vendor, CASHWA.
“I think that is a conflict of interest,” Ernst said. He added he is going to contract the Cheyenne Meals on Wheels dietitian (who has extensive experience with senior centers and requirements on various senior diet requirements) to do a full analysis of Platte County’s menus. But after the first analysis, SFS can look at finding a registered dietitian closer to home that can make those recommendations.
Another fire SFS and CALC have had to deal with is finding three people to fill vacant positions in the home care services side of the senior centers. There are interviews being conducted this week for those positions, but in the meantime, CALC is bringing a qualified CNA, formerly of Wheatland, to Guernsey and Wheatland on Tuesdays and Thursdays to perform in-home care services.
Ernst said he understands some senior clients will be utilizing a different in-home care service than is provided by the senior center, which he is okay with, but wanted them to know the in-home care service is provided (by the rules of the CSBG grant) in conjunction with the personal emergency response systems (PERS). If the in-home services are canceled, then the PERS must also be cancelled. Anyone who wishes to continue receiving in-home care services from the senior center are encouraged to reach out to let the center know they still want to be in the program.
“The reason we are here is because everyone is used to this level of service and nobody wants that level of service to diminish – especially the SFS board,” Ervin said. “But there is a cost of providing that, and obviously we could no longer keep that level of service. Just like at home: if you’re not going to make money, you have to spend less money. That’s the decision we had to make.”
He added, though one of the ideas presented as an option was to close Glendo and Chugwater senior centers, “I really advocated that not be an option. They pay taxes too, and we didn’t want them to close. We wanted to make sure those services are being maintained in those areas.”
At the community meeting, Ernst also announced CALC and SFS boards have agreed to terminate the management contract on March 15, and they are working to ensure a smooth transition of full control and management back to SFS. He said he believes SFS is back on track and is confident they will be able to move forward with the plans and guidelines that have been set to ensure the senior centers in Platte County can continue.
CALC’s CEO, CFO and Human Resources manager will continue to be available to consult with SFS and help provide answers and guidance after the transition. And to quell the rumors, Ernst said CALC has not taken one dime for any services, nor will they take any for any consulting they are asked to do. “It’s free bono from Community Action,” he said.
Asked why he cares so much, Ernst would tell you, “It’s out of commitment and integrity, and I care for Platte County.”
“There’s a long road to hoe, I’m not going to lie to you. There’s a lot of work ahead, but I think the problem should be totally resolved by the time I qualify for services,” Ervin said.
Vice chairwoman for Services for Seniors, Inc., Rosemary Stefanatz, said, “Because of the situation, since the first of October we haven’t had enough answers for ourselves to give good answers to the public.”
Stefanatz said once the board gets a profit/loss statement, projected budgets, and state and federal grant application dates and processes, she feels confident they will be able to manage the finances. “We can find a way to spend so we will not be over budget. I don’t expect to be out of debt for awhile, but if we start the next fiscal year with an actual budget we can probably get toward being out of debt and eventually building back up the savings.”
Though Stefanatz and Ernst both said the centers will need to rely on consistent volunteers to help keep the level of service the seniors in the Platte County deserve.
Rumors were also addressed at the meeting, with Ernst, Ervin, and Stefanatz in agreement, if anyone hears something, please ask a board member or the senior center director. There have been a wide variety of rumors, and they want to be as transparent as possible, so if you hear something, make sure it’s true before you pass it on.
“One rumor I want to clear up – I’ve heard it around town – Nobody committed any criminal acts. Nobody walked away with a suitcase full of cash. It was just a matter of we wanted to provide a level of service, but the cost of services just got more expensive, and we had to bring it back to a level we can afford,” Ervin said. “At what point are we out of the ‘uh-oh’s? We honestly do not know, there are so many things in the air right now with the state legislature, the property tax issues, and federal funding being cut with the current administration. There are a lot of pieces that still need to fall into place, and I don’t think we’ve made the last hard decision – I’ll put it that way.”