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Senior service levy served 14,900 county residents
By JUSTIN DENNIS
YOUNGSTOWN
The Area Agency on Aging 11 spent 68 percent of the $4.1 million Mahoning County received through its first round of senior services levy revenues.
The 1-mill levy passed in March 2016 and the agency began administering services in July 2017. County commissioners and agency officials reviewed the first year of services and the total $2.8 million in spending during a meeting last week.
The remaining about $1.3 million will carry over into next year’s funding, to a total of $5.4 million, agency spokesperson Lisa Solley said.
The levy has funded services for about 14,900 county residents, as well as residents from each township, said agency CEO Joseph Rossi. More than half of those served live outside Youngstown.
“When we go back out for this levy, we’re going to have to show the positive parts; the feedback from the people you’re serving,” said Commissioner Carol Rimedio-Righetti. “That’s what people in Mahoning County are going to be asking.”
Most of the first-year funding, $2.3 million, was spent on case management services. Rossi said about 1,200 residents take advantage of those services, though officials anticipated only 600.
Another large chunk of senior levy revenues, about $464,000, went toward home-delivered meals for close to 900 residents - “a much-needed service,” Rossi said. The agency has cleared a waiting list of about 260 people for those services and added another 600 people.
The biggest complaint heard in ongoing agency surveys is of senior service aides who don’t show up for a scheduled service, officials said. Consumers “sign off” on services received and are expected to report when senior service aides don’t show, they said. The agency monitors 16 service providers that serve close to 1,700 residents.
About 200 residents received personal care services such as assistance with bathing or dressing. The agency spent about $679,000 on personal care in the first year of services.
The agency spent about $342,000 of an allotted $765,000 on contracted services, according to figures Rossi presented.
Officials discussed whether pricey utility or home repairs for seniors should be covered under the levy, especially for low-income consumers, though they currently aren’t. Commissioner Anthony Traficanti said some repair concerns could become safety hazards for seniors. The agency spent about $80,000 on home modifications for nearly 100 residents in the last year.
They also considered whether to automate welfare calls for county seniors, as does Boardman Township.
The next agency meeting was set for November.