Levy for seniors passes with ease

For the sixth straight time, Franklin County voters overwhelmingly agreed to tax themselves to provide services for seniors.

“The Franklin County voters historically have shown strong support for the Senior Options levy,” Antonia Carroll, director of Franklin County’s Office on Aging, said after the big win.

Throughout much of the night, the levy was winning with 84 percent or more of the vote.

The huge margin of victory came even as the levy sought a significant increase.

The five-year levy will raise $34.6 million annually. It increases the property tax from the existing levy’s $39.70 per year per $100,000 of home value to $55.45 per year, a 40 percent increase.

Levy supporters said the $15-per-year increase, the equivalent of a pizza and a beer, was worth it — and Tuesday’s vote showed it.

“This is a very important component to the quality of life in our county,” Carroll said. “It shows the residents

of Franklin County want this progress that we’ve made to continue another five years.”

That money pays for

those in Franklin County who are age 60 or older and qualify financially to receive services such as home-delivered meals, medical transportation, adult day care and personal care. About 6,000 Franklin County residents use those services each month. The services act as a safety net for seniors living at home and provide some relief for their families and caretakers.

“The problems are complicated, and older people need support,” said Dianna Kubovchik, director of client services for the Central Ohio Area Agency on Aging.

The Franklin County Office on Aging, which controls the levy money, doesn’t directly provide services. Instead, it contracts with the COAAA and others to help seniors.

It’s easy to find support for seniors because most people have parents or grandparents to worry about, Kubovchik said, and many themselves will need those services eventually.

Data, she said, show older women are among the poorest in the U.S., and thus in greatest need of help.

“We’re keeping people at home, and that’s where they want

to be,” she said.

Census data show that nearly 1 in 5 people in Franklin County, about 18 percent, will be 60 or older by 2020.

The huge victory isn’t unusual for the Senior Options levy. Since 1992, the first time the five-year Senior Options levy was adopted, it’s never received less than 63 percent of the vote. It reached that low number in 2012. It was adopted by at least 71 percent of the vote in 1997, 2002 and 2007.