Trumbull County OKs retaining Area Agency on Aging services

By Ed Runyan

SCOPE was awarded $643,851 in levy funds in each of the past two years.

WARREN — The Trumbull County commissioners have reauthorized the Area Agency on Aging of Youngstown to provide administration and consulting services for the money generated by the county’s senior services levy.

The reauthorization is for $5,000 per month — the same amount Area Agency on Aging was paid in 2008 — but the commissioners approved a six-month contract this time instead of a year.

Commissioner Paul Heltzel said the contract was shortened because of controversies that arose last year regarding services provided by the Warren-based senior services agency SCOPE.

Area Agency on Aging alleged that SCOPE was billing improperly for services it was providing. One example was line dancing at $33 per hour when it should have been $9 per hour.

SCOPE said the guidelines it had to work under left it few choices for billing rates.

Heltzel at one point characterized the relationship between Area Agency on Aging and SCOPE as “fighting siblings.”

Heltzel said this week it is likely that the contract with Area Agency on Aging will be extended this summer for the other six months, but this way the commissioners and Area Agency on Aging can re-evaluate after six months.

Commissioner Dan Polivka, however, said he would not “read into” the shorter contract with Area Agency on Aging.

“I think they’re doing a good job,” Polivka said. The agency administers roughly 30 programs such as the seniors levy over several counties and hasn’t experienced a controversy like the one involving SCOPE in any other program, Polivka said.

Heltzel said discussions are ongoing with SCOPE to determine how much the agency was overpaid in 2008.

The countywide levy approved in November 2005 generates about $2.6 million a year to provide senior citizen services such as home-delivered meals, transportation and other services.

SCOPE was awarded $643,851 in senior levy funds in 2007, $428,671 being for operation of senior centers and $215,180 to provide personal care, homemaker services, adult day care, adult day-care transportation and chore services. SCOPE was awarded roughly the same amount in 2008.

runyan@vindy.com