WHEREAS, the Maryland Vending Facilities Program for the Blind ranks among the best in the nation as measured by the incomes earned and the opportunities available to the blind men and women who run the Vending Facilities;
AND, WHEREAS, the blind men and women who serve as managers in the Maryland Vending Facilities Program constitute a significant source of tax revenue for all levels of government (Federal, state, and local) generating far more tax revenues each year through the payment of personal income taxes, payroll taxes, the collection of sales taxes, and the generation of direct and indirect business taxes, than are spent by the government in support of the Program;
AND, WHEREAS, the Maryland State Department of Education has been the sole licensing agency for the Program since July 1, 1980, with full financial responsibility for the operation of the Program;
AND, WHEREAS, the Maryland State Department of Education has shirked this financial responsibility by instead relying heavily on the resources of Blind Industries and Services of Maryland and on the use of unassigned vending machine income (which if not used by the Maryland State Department of Education to meet its responsibility could be distributed to blind managers in the program;
AND, WHEREAS, the failure of the Department of Education to fulfill its financial responsibilities has caused the accumulation of significant deficit levels in the Program, thus threatening the future viability of the program,
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Members of the National Federation of the Blind of Maryland, in meeting assembled this 15th day of October, 1983, in the City of Gaithersburg, Maryland, that we insist that the Department of Education fulfill its responsibilities to the Maryland Vending Facilities Program for the Blind, thus ensuring the future strength of the program to provide meaningful employment to blind men and women;
AND, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Maryland Department of Education restructure the funding for the Vending Facilities Program by a) allowing managers to assume financial responsibility for their assistants, b) eliminating Assistant Business Counselors, c) reducing service fees by approximately 50%, d) funding outstanding deficits, and e) providing the necessary amounts of funding to ensure fiscally sound operations in the future.