Lake County supervisors approve letter urging reauthorization of Older Americans Act to restore federal funding for Area Agency on Aging

The Lake County Board of Supervisors voted to approve a letter asking congressional representatives to urgently reauthorize the Older Americans Act and return federal funding to the Area Agency on Aging that serves Lake and Mendocino counties, and authorized the board chair to sign the letter as amended.

The letter asks Congress to restore OAA funding that supports senior meal services, including Meals on Wheels. Rachel Delman Parsons, Lake County Social Services Director and executive director for the Area Agency on Aging, told the board that the federal reauthorization was not included in a continuing resolution passed Dec. 20 and that the omitted funding is “vital” to supporting at‑risk seniors. “This is vital funding that we would like to see returned to support our most at‑risk seniors,” Parsons said.

Parsons said the Lake–Mendocino Area Agency on Aging has sufficient state funding to continue providing services through June 2025, but that doing so requires reallocating funds that otherwise would support senior centers. “We do have sufficient state funding to continue to provide these services through June 2025, but that is taking funding that would have otherwise gone to these senior centers,” she said.

Supervisor Sabatier asked to amend the letter’s closing line to add the word “take” so the sentence reads, “We urge you to take action now.” Parsons agreed to make the wording change. Supervisor Pyszka said the two counties had previously discussed joint advocacy and that having both boards sign the letter was the planned next step. Supervisor Paiske asked for a signed copy to take to Washington, D.C., where Paiske and another supervisor planned to travel.

A board member moved to approve the letter of support calling for urgent reauthorization of the Older Americans Act and to authorize the chair to sign; another board member seconded the motion. The chair called for the question and, after the vote, said the motion carried. The transcript does not record a roll‑call or a numeric vote tally.

The board’s approval directs staff to finalize the corrected letter and to transmit a signed copy to the county’s congressional representatives. The letter will be coordinated with Mendocino County, which previously signed the same request.

The action does not itself change local program funding; Parsons said continued service through June 2025 depends on state funds that the Area Agency on Aging will redirect from other local programs if federal funds are not restored. The board did not set a subsequent deadline for follow‑up or require a new report to the board beyond routine updates.