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Butler County Elderly Services presenter outlines levy proposal and service gaps to West Chester trustees
Summary
Christine Matasick described the Butler County Elderly Services Program (ESP), said it is funded largely by a county levy and that demand has risen while levy revenue has not kept pace; she cited program costs, a countywide wait list and asked trustees to consider supporting a five‑year renewal with an increase.
At the Sept. 9 West Chester Township meeting, Christine Matasick, a retired Liberty Township trustee and former member of the Butler County Elderly Services advisory council, briefed trustees on the Butler County Elderly Services Program (ESP) and the levy that funds most of its work.
Matasick described ESP services — care managers, contracted home aides who provide cleaning, laundry and rides to appointments, home‑delivered meals and durable medical equipment — and recounted a pair of county clients who avoided nursing‑home care through ESP support. She said roughly 80% of ESP funding comes from the county levy and that Butler County contracts with the Council on Aging of Southwest Ohio to administer services. Matasick said ESP’s funding level has been largely unchanged for about 20 years while the county’s older adult population grew roughly 79% and ESP serves about 50% more people than two decades ago.
Matasick said the renewal before county voters would be a five‑year levy with an increase; she provided homeowner cost examples and said property‑owner impact estimates are available on the county auditor’s website. She cited an average ESP cost of about $425 per client per month compared with a cited nursing‑home cost of $8,000 per month and said the levy would help reduce wait lists that currently exist across Butler County.
Trustees pressed staff about whether levy funds stay in Butler County and how the Council on Aging manages the earmarked funds. Matasick and staff said levy receipts are kept in a separate Butler County fund and that, by law, funds are reserved for Butler County elderly services. Staff confirmed the wait list is countywide; the presenter said West Chester currently has about 31 clients served but that number could increase as the population ages.
What happens next: the presentation informed trustees ahead of the countywide ballot action; trustees did not take a formal vote on the levy at the Sept. 9 meeting.
