More than three dozen senior citizens gathered Wednesday at City Hall to protest the planned merger of Baltimore's agency on aging with the Health Department.
Advocates fear that moving the Commission on Aging and Retirement Education into the larger department would result in fewer services for the elderly, despite official reassurances that programs would not be affected.
Health Department officials, who testified at a City Council hearing after the rally, said the move would enable more efficient access to services. They said programs at senior centers would continue unchanged.
But Ted Meyerson, president of United Seniors of Maryland, said he feared that socialization, education and work and volunteer programs would be overlooked by Health Department officials.
"They're only talking about health care services," he said outside council chambers. "That's the fallacy."
City officials said the merger would save about $500,000 as Baltimore grapples with a $121 million shortfall in its $2.2 billion budget. They noted that many surrounding counties handle senior services through their health departments.
City Council members Mary Pat Clarke and Carl Stokes, who organized the rally, asked Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake to postpone the merger for three months to allow more input from seniors.
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