Trumbull County commissioners keep senior-center funding at $625,000 while directing staff to proceed with current RFPs

Trumbull County Commissioners on Tuesday agreed to proceed with awarding the current senior-center contracts at $625,000 and to present the resulting recommendations to the board, while continuing to weigh how levy dollars should be used to address a long waiting list for in‑home care.

The decision came after a more than four‑hour special meeting of the county’s senior services advisory group and commissioners in which advisory-board members, senior-center directors and outside providers described competing needs: congregate center programming, transportation and home-delivered services versus in‑home personal care and chore services for homebound residents.

Diane Syskovich Jokovic, the county’s senior levy administrator, told the panel that the agency released a request for proposals in mid‑April and that the amount recommended in the current bid cycle and used in prior cycles was $625,000. “We did release a bid cycle for senior centers in mid‑April,” Syskovich Jokovic said. “That amount was $625,000.”

Why it matters: Commissioners and advisory-board members said the county must balance funds across several programs paid for with levy dollars — including transportation, homemaker/personal care and home-delivered meals — while responding to a reported wait list of about 200 people who need…