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Girard Multigenerational Center director warns senior center faces service cuts after county funding recommendation
Summary
The director of the Girard Multigenerational Center told commissioners that a recommended reduction in county senior-levy funding will harm services; commissioners said they acted on the senior services advisory council's recommendations and will review budget details to consider impacts.
At the Sept. 17 Trumbull County meeting, a representative of the Girard Multigenerational Center told commissioners that a reduction in recommended county senior-levy funding will negatively affect services for area seniors and that the center previously relied on ARPA funds that are no longer available.
Why it matters: The senior services levy supplies funds to community senior centers for programming and in-home services. Changes to county allocations can affect center operations, programming and services that help seniors remain independent.
What the speaker said
A speaker identified as Carrie, representing the Girard Multigenerational Center, said the center was recommended for a cut in county senior-levy support and that two years earlier they had been reduced to $61,000 in county funding but were temporarily supplemented with approximately $34,400 in ARPA funds. She said ARPA money is no longer available and that a further reduction will force program cuts and negatively affect seniors who use the center. Carrie provided a center budget summary in the meeting: a total-budget figure stated in the record of $279,675, of which $40,325 was listed as an in-kind lease value for the school building rented for $1 a year; another $35,950 was identified as anticipated Older Americans Act funds (reimbursement-based); and the center reported receiving about $201,000 from a city senior levy in the prior funding cycle. Carrie said the center was currently recommended for a county allocation of $61,000 (a reduction from past county payments) and asked that commissioners reconsider the distribution.
Commissioners’ response
Commissioners said they were acting on recommendations from the Senior Services Advisory Council, which had proposed distributions for the levy period effective Nov. 1, 2025–Oct. 31, 2027. Commissioners noted the county had added several new home-care providers to the levy-funded services and that senior centers statewide and locally had varying budgets and service models. One commissioner asked for a written breakdown of what services would be cut if county funding remained at the recommended level; another commissioner said he and his colleagues would review the center’s full budget and consider what can be done.
Next steps
- The county asked the center to provide an itemized list of services that would be cut under the recommended allocation. - Commissioners said they would review the center’s total budget and consider options during follow-up discussions; no immediate change to the approved recommendation was recorded at the meeting.
Provenance: Comments and budget figures appear in the public-comment portion of the meeting and during agenda items addressing distribution of senior services levy funds (items 24 and 25 on the agenda).
