Mil levy sorely needed for seniors
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Editor,
The number of senior citizens in Lake County is rising and is expected to increase drastically over the next 10 years. The over 60-years-of-age portion of the county’s population is expected to jump from between 20 and 25 percent to about 40 percent in that time.
The elderly receive a myriad of services from local agencies and senior citizens centers. Those services include home-delivered and congregate meals, transportation for medical and other purposes, nursing home ombudsmen, in-home assistance and a variety of informational and social services. While the demand for those services has steadily increased, funding for them from the federal, state and local levels has generally stayed about the same or decreased.
Financial support from Lake County has remained close to level. For several years the county contributed about the same dollar amount regardless of inflation. Hopefully, with the placement of a mil levy request on the June ballot, that will change. The levy would raise the present county support from the equivalent of a little less than one mil to 2 mils. That would be a dependable source of income that would increase with the value of a mil. The levy would mean an increase in property taxes to owners of a $100,000 home to about $2.62 per year.
The funds would be distributed according to the formula presently in place to six senior citizen centers, the Lake County Council on Aging and the Area VI Agency on Aging.
I urge you to vote for the levy and help maintain these important services to our senior citizens who sorely need them. Thank you.
Mack McConnell
St. Ignatius
