Funds distributed for elderly services

Rides are dropping from 2 to 1.50 in some communities.
By ED RUNYAN
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- Rides for senior citizens costing 2 or less each way will be available throughout Trumbull County starting Tuesday.
Action by Trumbull County commissioners Wednesday to distribute 462,000 to the Niles Trumbull Transit System, 59,384 to the county's Office of Elderly Affairs and 17,335 to the Country Neighbor Program Inc. nearly completes allocation of the 2.6 million voters approved for senior citizen services.
"The promise made by the levy committee is now a promise kept," said Tom Harwood, a member of the Senior Citizens Advisory Council, the volunteer group appointed by county commissioners to recommend the best ways for the commissioners to spend the money.
Harwood said there is just one part of the transportation money remaining to be distributed -- about 71,000 that commissioners will be asked in early May to allocate for senior citizen travel outside of the county. Generally, these trips are for visits to hospitals or clinics, Harwood said.
The levy committee asked voters to approve the 0.75-mill levy at the polls in November 2005 and promised that 460,000 of the money would be used for transportation for Trumbull County residents age 60 and over.
In fact, the total transportation allocation so far is 538,719, Harwood said, because the levy raised more money than originally anticipated.
About the services
The 462,000 to NTTS will enable the public transportation entity run by the city of Niles to continue to provide rides to residents of its member communities -- mostly in the southern third of the county -- and provide the same services in the rest of the county.
Harwood noted that NTTS has decided it will be able to reduce the fee of 2 per ride for its member communities to 1.50 per ride starting May 1.
Tony Cario, staff director for the council, said users will need to call NTTS at least 24 hours in advance to receive rides from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday or 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Sunday and holidays.
Residents living north of state Route 88 in the northern part of the county will be provided the same services, except their provider will be Country Neighbor of Orwell, Harwood said.
He added that the hours of operation for Country Neighbor have not been set yet.
The money allocated to the Office of Elderly Affairs is for assisted transportation for senior citizens countywide.
This is for people who need help getting into a vehicle because they use a wheelchair, for instance, Harwood said. Hours for that service will be 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Wednesday's allocations are for services from May 1 through the end of the year, Harwood said. The council will start accepting requests for proposals this summer from agencies wishing to provide services in 2008 so that service will continue uninterrupted in 2008, he said.
Some crossover of services will occur between NTTS and Country Neighbor, Harwood said, so there may be referrals from one agency to the other at times.
The Warren-based company Community Busing Inc. provides the services used by NTTS, Harwood noted.
runyan@vindy.com