Budget cuts have reduced funding for senior citizens services in Nevada County by 25 percent, a hefty chunk of change that will impact more than 22,300 residents countywide.

Locally, $2,207 has been pulled from the Truckee Tahoe Seniors Council nutrition and home-delivered meals programs, two services that were already working on a lean budget, though it is still unclear as to how deeply the cuts will be felt.

The upside is that preliminary budget numbers forecasted Truckee would be hit much harder, but after presenting arguments to the Area 4 Agency on Aging, the organization that administers federal dollars authorized under Title III of the Older Americans Act, the Senior’s Council was able to retain a greater portion of their allotment.

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“We presented a strong case of need so that [the Area 4 Agency on Aging] recommended a minimal reduction in funding,” said Melanie Kauffman, executive director of the Truckee Tahoe Seniors Council.

The need for senior services in Truckee is certainly great ” with nearly 1,500 seniors living there. Ninety percent of the seniors council’s clients ” in Truckee and on the north and west shores of Tahoe ” come from the meals program, and it is especially vital to those seniors who are homebound, isolated, or at risk of other health issues.

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The loss of $127,182 in Nevada County funds, which brings the budget to $367,965, is due in part to the rising senior populations in some of the six other counties in Area 4. As demographics shift, so does funding.

Placer County’s senior population has grown by 17 percent over the past four years, and Sacramento County’s population has increased by 14 percent in that same time.

Meanwhile, Nevada County’s senior population has remained relatively stable, and funding was therefor reallocated in accordance. Other counties in Area 4 include Sierra, Sutter, Yolo, and Yuba.