Voters approved a renewal of the 1.3-mill Butler County elderly services tax levy and a .7-mill increase.
The combined levy will cost taxpayers an additional $24.50 per $100,000 of value. The total cost will double to $50 per $100,000 and reap $20.4 million.
Ken Wilson, vice president of program operations at the Council on Aging of Southwestern Ohio, thanked the voters who approved the levy for their “continued support” for older adults in the county. He said the county doesn’t take that support for granted.
“It’s great that they trust us to continue those services,” he said late Tuesday night.
He said residents understand the importance of senior services because most of them have dealt with those issues in their families.
Wilson had said “a straight renewal levy” would not meet the growing needs of the population.
It would continue to generate $10.9 million a year and that would require “a dramatic restructuring” of the program and create a really big gap in need within the county that would not be served, he said.
Council on Aging of Southwestern Ohio manages the elderly services levy that provides programming so seniors can stay at home as long as possible, according to Wilson. The agency served 4,079 clients last year, he said. It pays for services such as transportation, meals, mental health, adult day services, housekeeping and repairs.
The cost differential between someone staying independent or going into a nursing home is $450 a month versus $8,000, according to Wilson.
Council on Aging administrators said the need for elderly supportive services has risen exponentially since the last levy increase two decades ago. The number of residents age 60-plus has grown 79% and keeps multiplying rapidly.
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