Public Forum Scheduled on Potential Changes to Community Services

MORRIS—The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025-26” has, at this writing, passed the U.S. Senate and is now referred to the House of Representatives. The bill lays out spending by the federal government for the coming year and, opponents say, will make deep cuts to essential programs that many in our area rely on for their health and well-being.

A group of concerned citizens who live in Otsego County, including Sarai Halliday of Opportunities for Otsego, Andrea Hull of Morris, and Arlene Martin of New Lisbon, has organized a non-partisan public forum to help residents of the Butternut Valley better understand how the proposed federal budget could affect local services.

Titled “The Future of Community Services,” the forum will be held on Thursday, July 10 at 6:30 p.m. at the Morris Firehouse, 177 East Main Street. The event is free and open to the public.

Presenters at the forum will include Tanya Shalor of Opportunities for Otsego, Maggie Johnson from the Edmeston Food Pantry, Dr. Diane Georgeson of the Oneonta City Health Department, and Tamie Reed of the Otsego County Office for the Aging.

Other speakers will address veterans’ issues that may be impacted by the bill. While it preserves core benefit increases for veterans, the bill also contains provisions which may change how some services are accessed and funded.

Those in attendance will have an opportunity to ask questions of the presenters.

“We organized this event because of our concerns about how the impending cuts will impact our local healthcare options, and other people, programs, and organizations here,” said Halliday.

“We will talk about these issues in a non-partisan way, so we can find ways to support each other, regardless of the outcome of the bill,” she added.