Oregon residents will be voting on two levies for senior services this November, one for the Area Office on Aging of Northwest Ohio and one for the Oregon Senior Center.
The Area Office on Aging issue is a countywide levy. The agency is seeking a total of 1 mill for five years. It is a combination of the existing 0.75-mill levy, which expires at the end of 2024, plus an additional 0.25 mills. The Oregon Senior Center is seeking approval from Oregon voters for a 0.5-mill levy renewal.
First passed in 2013 and renewed in 2018, the Oregon levy raises about $225,000 annually. This year, the levy would generate around $250,000 because of property tax values increasing after new construction in the city.
Funds generated by the Oregon levy pay for a variety of senior services, including transportation inside the city limits to help seniors get to medical appointments and accomplish other tasks, such as grocery shopping. Associated transportation costs include vehicle lease, maintenance, staffing, and insurance.
Other services covered by the levy include health assessments, socialization, and recreation — such as dance, exercise, and educational classes — supportive services, congregate breakfasts, and chores like leaf pickup, snow shoveling, yard work, and mowing.
It also pays the wages of a kitchen worker, part-time bookkeeper, and outreach coordinator.
The senior center also receives $50,000 annually from the city of Oregon and $70,000 from the Area Office on Aging.
“The Oregon levy picks up where the county levy drops off,” said Paula Benton, executive director of the senior center. “With the pandemic, everything changed. We used to pick people up and take them to the senior center and sometimes to the doctor’s office. Now we do transports to the grocery store and other places to meet essential needs.”
The senior center serves an average of 50 seniors daily; lunch and occasional breakfast are served.
In addition to allocating funding for the senior center, the Area Office on Aging of Northwest Ohio last year provided a total of $324,693 for programs assisting Oregon older adults, according to Justin Moor, CEO and executive director of the agency.
Among the programs in Oregon funded by the county levy are home-delivered as well as on-site meals; home care aid services to help with bathing, dressing, and case management; Alzheimer’s adult day care and dementia services; durable medical equipment; benefits counseling; and minor home repair, said Mr. Moor.
Efforts to place the Oregon renewal on the ballot in 2023 failed because the ballot language didn’t include the required wording, Lucas County Board of Elections Director LaVera Scott said at the time.
The city of Oregon provided the senior center with additional funding this year to fill the hole in its budget. City council recently approved a resolution to place the levy on the November ballot.
So why are two levies needed for Oregon seniors?
“Before the levy, we didn’t have breakfasts, 10 tables of euchre, and all the transportation,” said Ms. Benton. “With the Oregon senior levy, we can supply so much more for seniors.”
City Administrator Joel Mazur said the city’s updated comprehensive master plan includes demographic information showing an aging population in Oregon. The median age in Oregon in 2010 was 36.9. At the end of 2023, it’s 45.2.
“So we’ve seen the age increase in Oregon in a short period of time. Funding from the Area Office on Aging is not enough to support basic services. And we’re anticipating more services to seniors in the coming years,” he said.
He also attributed the increase in usage to a larger senior center. The previous senior center, located in an old pumping station on Bay Shore Road, was smaller than the facility it relocated to in 2014 on Navarre Avenue.
“The old building was not close to our population base and it was harder to get to,” said Mr. Mazur. Since then, the usage and membership has grown.
The owner of a $100,000 home will pay $17 per year if the Oregon levy is renewed, according to Ms. Benton.
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