Mil levy passage means better services for seniors
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LAKE COUNTY – Service providers said last week that programs for Lake County seniors will be better able to serve a growing population of elders after voters approved a mil levy.
Stagnant and decreasing funding at the federal and state levels have plagued area senior centers and service providers for the past several years, even as demand has risen for the aging Baby Boomer generation.
“As we’re having to provide more services, we’re having the same amount of dollars,” said Tammy Walston, who manages two programs for the Western Montana Area VI Agency on Aging. “Extra funding is imperative if we are going to continue funding our programs. Sequestration has cut our funding in the past couple of years, and funding for the Older Americans Act hasn’t increased.”
The overwhelming support for the mil levy means Lake County voters recognize there is a large need for support for senior services, former St. Ignatius Senior Citizens’ Center Board Member Mack McConnell said. Out of 6,095 votes cast, 4,014 were in favor of the mil levy.
“The vote was almost 2-1 and I think that’s great,” McConnell said. “I just wish it had happened two or three years earlier. I think it represents that people realize that there’s a need.”
The mil levy will assess a $2.62 tax for every $100,000 in property on the county’s tax rolls. The levy will raise approximately $200,000 for services. Previously, county government earmarked about $40,000 every year from the county’s general fund to be split between five area senior centers and two other service providers. The county commissioners could have cut that funding at any time, but the mil levy will be in place forever.
“It is definite funding we’re going to have,” said Joanne Shaw, project director for the Council on Aging that is housed in Ronan. “We don’t have to guess where money is coming from. We know we’ll be able to pay for things.”
Some programs that have been on the back burner during financially lean years will likely be resuscitated, Shaw said.
One program prime for revamping is a home repair initiative that fixes leaky faucets and other small projects that aging residents can’t handle by themselves.
“This mil levy will let us do the smaller stuff that we never have the time or the cents to take care of,” Shaw said. “We are so grateful it passed.”
