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Area Agency on Aging asks Winneshiek supervisors for county match to sustain services for older residents
Summary
Lisa Wetzel of the Northeast Iowa Area Agency on Aging asked the board for a county contribution equal to roughly 3% of the agency’s local investment — about $47,100 — to help sustain home-delivered meals, caregiver support and other services for older residents.
Lisa Wetzel, representing the Northeast Iowa Area Agency on Aging (NEI3A), briefed Winneshiek County supervisors on the agency’s services and asked the county to provide additional fiscal support to match investments provided to county residents.
Wetzel described NEI3A as one of six area agencies in Iowa that use Older Americans Act funds plus state and local funding to provide services intended to help older adults remain independent. She said federal Older Americans Act funding has been essentially level for several years even as the county’s population has aged. Wetzel said the share of Winneshiek County residents 65 and older rose from about 16.9% in 2010 to about 23.3% in 2022.
Numbers cited: For fiscal year 2024 (July 1, 2023–June 30, 2024), the agency reported an approximate $157,000 investment of services to Winneshiek County residents: about $41,000 of that total supported nutrition (home-delivered meals). Wetzel said NEI3A recorded 206 information/referral contacts, 75 individuals in the nutrition program, 68 in caregiver services, and 22 individuals who received home- and community-based services funded through the agency. She added that the agency tracked 320 individuals who received some service in Winneshiek County in that fiscal year; the agency is also beginning to track unmet need when it must deny services for lack of funding.
Request: Wetzel said the agency is asking counties to contribute a flat 3% match of the investment they received, which would equate to roughly $47,100 for Winneshiek County based on last year’s figures. The county’s contribution would help support home-delivered meals, caregiver support, information and referral, transportation and other program costs targeted to older residents with the greatest need.
Board follow-up: Supervisors asked clarifying questions about the count of county users and the breakdown of nutrition recipients; Wetzel said she would follow up by email with requested data. No formal vote or appropriation was taken at the meeting; the request will be considered during the county budget process.
