Senior Citizens group seeks November levy

LIMA - Expenses may be going up for the county's senior citizen groups, but that doesn't mean they'll be looking to gouge the taxpayers.

Representatives of four organizations that provide services for the county's seniors asked Allen County Commissioners for permission to place a .3 mill renewal levy on the November ballot. That's the same millage they've drawn since the levy first passed in 1989. They could certainly use more money, but they're not going to ask for it.

"We have agreed out of respect for the taxpayers not to seek more," said Diane Bishop, executive director of the Allen County Council on Aging. "We know the economy is affecting everyone."

The .3 mill, five-year levy is expected to raise $432,000 a year, to be split between the Allen County Council on Aging and senior services groups in Lima, Bluffton and Delphos.

The groups have been dealing with tight budgets in recent years. About 40 percent of their budget goes into providing transportation to seniors around the county. With gas prices rising, those costs are shooting up.

"Nobody told us they were going to put $4 a gallon on gas," said Joyce Hale, director of the Delphos Senior Citizens Inc. "It is so vital that we get our people over here to the hospitals."

Despite the doubling of gas prices in recent years, the groups have managed to sustain services with the help of private and corporate donations and by coordinating their efforts whenever possible, Bishop said.

"We partner with each other so we are not duplicating services but expanding them," Bishop said.

The groups will see a slight increase in their budgets if the renewal is approved. Last year, they received about $416,000 from the levy. Thanks to increased home values, the renewal would bring in an estimated $432,000 a year.

The levy is expected to be approved and appear on the Nov. 4 ballot.