PORT JERVIS, NY — At the November 24 council meeting, Raymond Zukowski, a member of Empowering Port Jervis, a volunteer organization that aims to help the most vulnerable citizens of the city, stood up and made a surprising connection between two events. He tied the announcement of the arrest of Dennis McBee, who is accused of killing the beloved shopkeeper Joseph Kutcher, with the recent city decision to move the county offices that provided social services, public health and probation service, to Middletown. City officials have described the moves as being mandated by the state in response to serious budget deficit issues.

Zukowski said, “Yes, McBee is a villain in the literal meaning. He senselessly murdered one of our town’s most beloved citizens as well as driving a wedge between several groups in our community. The one in five that live in poverty as well as the nearly 10% that utilize the clinic feel that they are being punished because of the act of one man. Others feel that, as the initial decision [for the closings] was made in private, the letter was made public at a time when our community was distracted by great tragedy. I personally hope that it was just bad timing all around. McBee may have created that wedge, but intentional or not, it was the city government that hit it with a sledge hammer.”

Other residents and members of the community crowded into the council room, and also spoke during the public comment segment of the meeting to protest moving the services out of the town to either Middletown or Goshen.

Mayor Kelly Decker was not present, because he was away making the case for the long-awaited White Water Park to the Upper Delaware River Council, but he had responded to queries and protests at previous council meetings on his Facebook page.

Decker wrote, “In an effort to save money, [it’s proposed] to close the county probation and social services office in the city.”

He continued, “As most of you should be aware, the county is running a deficit. After speaking with the council and advising them that the county social services runs a transportation system, free of charge to clients, through Port Jervis to other locations in the county where there are duplicated services such as probation and other services, they voted unanimously to support this request.”

Decker said running duplicate service offices costs taxpayer dollars in rent, utilities, and payroll, and he said the city did not ask to close the mental health or health department offices because they are needed close by for urgent cases.

The state has told local and county governments they need to consolidate and work to combine services, which Decker said contributed to the decision.

Judith Oppelt was among the residents who spoke against the closures; she said visiting nurses and health workers for the elderly or homebound will not have a base to work from in the city if the proposed cuts take place. Other speakers said that if the probation service closes, the city will lose those who are most sorely needed to make it a safer place.

Decker said in his Facebook post, “If you take a look at my proposed budget for 2015 there are many cuts that I did not want to make but found it is necessary since the fund balance has been dwindled to a dangerously low amount.”