The levies would dramatically increase funding for services for the elderly.

The levies would dramatically increase funding for services for the elderly.
By STEPHEN SIFF
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- A four-county agency that helps distribute federal money for services to the elderly will seek local taxpayer support in Trumbull and Mahoning counties for the first time.
Mahoning County commissioners are expected to approve a resolution today that will be the first step toward placing a five-year, 1-mill levy for the District XI Area Agency on Aging on the March ballot.
Trumbull County commissioners took a similar step Tuesday.
The agency also serves Ashtabula and Columbiana counties.
Money raised from a Trumbull County levy would be spent in Trumbull; money from a Mahoning County issue would go to Mahoning needs, said community relations director Deanna Clifford.
The agency does not provide any direct services, but gives money to other organizations that do. Agencies that receive funding include the Trumbull County Office of Elderly Affairs, SCOPE, Forum Health At Home, Easter Seals Society, Northeast Ohio Legal Services and Interfaith Home Maintenance.
Passing the levies would more than triple the amount of money for elderly services in each county.
In Trumbull County, the agency on aging now distributes about $1 million a year for nutrition programs and services to the elderly. The levy would bring in an additional $3 million, Clifford said.
In Mahoning, the agency now spends $1.4 million, and the levy would bring in $3.6 million more.
The money would be used to expand a wide range of services, including transportation, home care and lunch programs, she said.
Clifford noted that in Trumbull County, the population of people over age 75 increased by 45 percent from 1990 to 2000.
A television campaign is planned to promote the levies in both counties, she said.
siff@vindy.com