MONTICELLO - With home heating fuel costs on the rise, Sullivan County leaders are scrambling to help the increasing number of residents who they anticipate will apply for aid to keep their homes warm this winter.

The Sullivan County Residential Winter Emergency Task Force, made up of county leaders and representatives from several county agencies and religious and social services groups, is making their number one priority in its first year of existence setting up heating centers in Monticello, and maybe another in Liberty, to give the homeless and low-income families a place to stay when the temperatures drop.

County Manager David Fanslau said they are going to work with a number of not-for-profits in the county, including the Sullivan County Federation for the Homeless, in the needs assessment process, as well as ask the state for increased HEAP, Home Energy Assistance Program, funding in the county.

The county may seek assistance from charity organizations like the Federation for the Homeless to use their facility as a warming station.

Federation representative Cheryl Gugliotta told other members of the task force Monday that it costs her organization over $14,000 to heat their building over the winter season, but that their funding is in jeopardy, as a result of state budget cuts.

“We need help.  The not-for-profits are being hit because of Gov. Paterson’s budget cuts.  We have state grants, and those grants get affected when those budget cuts come down the line,” she said.

Gugliotta said they would love to expand services, but they are facing a financial crunch.