A crowded waiting room, upstairs training area and lack of private conference space is driving the island Social Security office to move to League City, said office manager Patsy Lewis.
Rent for the office ... had nothing to do with the decision to move, she said.
While Wes Davis, regional communications director for the Social Security Administration, had said it wasn’t cost-effective to keep the office in Galveston because rent on the office was expected to rise three to four times higher than the government pays now, Lewis said that wasn’t true. Lewis said the space doesn’t meet their needs. ...
Davis has said the administration would not consider staying in Galveston.
Some disabled and elderly islanders might have trouble getting to the Social Security Administration office if it moves from Galveston to League City.
Many people who qualify for Supplemental Security Income won’t be able to afford the taxi ride to and from League City, said Frank Avery, who works for the island-based Transitional Learning Center, a brain injury rehabilitation center. For some, it might come down to paying for medicine and food or catching a cab to ensure their Social Security checks continue, he said.
Apr 30, 2008
Galveston Loses Social Security Office -- And Regional Communications Director Misspeaks
Why not just tell the truth from the beginning? From the Galveston Daily News:
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5 comments:
"Many people who qualify for Supplemental Security Income won’t be able to afford the taxi ride to and from League City."
How often do people go into an office?
Current office
4918-A SEAWALL BLVD
GALVESTON TX 77551
Zip Codes for League City 77573 and 77574
Distance between 77551 and 77574 is 11.59 miles
Distance between 77551 and 77573 City is 10.82 miles
Need to stop all this sky is falling BS when an office is to be closed.
Using Mapquest, it is over 27 miles from the center of Galveston to the center of League City, over 30 minutes one-way. If one lives up-or-down-island from the city of Galveston, it would be longer.
Perfect example of falsification of statistical information to support office closings.
People visit field offices all the time, especially if they receive SSI.
Get in touch with the facts before giving an opinion.
Yes, people visit offices all the time, but how much of it could have been done over the 800# and how often is the same person going to be going into a field office?
This site has it 22 miles.
http://tinyurl.com/krl8c
So I was off with my original calculation, but still say it's not that big of a deal for the public.
So how far is the nearest IRS or DMV office? Be great if there was money to have an SSA office on every corner, but savings need to be made if money is going to be thrown at the disability program.
I bet the people crying the loudest are the employees that have to move and coming in second the union.
We should have one Social Security field office in every Walmart in America. If it takes longer to get to a field office than Walmart then we are doomed. Doomed.
SSI cannot be done by the 800#. The TSR's are not qualified, and in many cases not competent, to process SSI workloads. That is a fact. In addition, many SSI recipients do not have phones or cars.
Why are there still those who offer know-it-all opinions on issues on which they have no facts and do want to be confused by facts?
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