Ohio Department of Aging
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Publisher: Ohio Association of Gerontology and Education
Published Date: March 2006
Introduction
Fifty-nine of Ohio's 88 counties operated senior service levies that brought in over $94 million for the state's older population in 2004. These levies vary greatly from county to county in size and revenue generated, from a .10 mill levy raising $9,000 a year to a .85 mill levy collecting $21 million in the same time period. Two additional counties, mentioned on the following page, passed levies in November of 2005, but are not included in report totals.
The levies also differ significantly regarding per capita dollars for 60 and older populations, with one county bringing in $3.81 per-person age 60 and older and another raising $190.57 per-person in that same age group.
The specific services most often funded by these levies include nutrition, transportation, in-home services (such as home-delivered meals and home health aides) and senior center administration.
While these levies have expanded services in all counties in which they have passed, waiting lists remain in 42 percent (22 of 52) of the counties that responded to the survey question regarding availability of services.
More than 90 percent of Ohio's senior service levies have been successful at the ballot box, with an average passage rate of 65 percent of the vote. Components of successful levy campaigns most often cited by the counties included planning early (up to a year before the levy campaign), public speaking engagements, yard and road signs, good media coverage including newspaper, TV and radio, and maintaining a good reputation in the community.
Many counties acknowledged special issues in operating and sustaining their levy programs, with these challenges most often pertaining to increased demand for senior services and the education of local voters and political officials on the need for those services. Other areas of concern included competition for levy funding from schools and other social services and the increasing discontent of taxpayers in relation to rising property taxes.
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Ohio Department of Aging