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Porter County board approves $100,000 support for aging transportation services
Summary
After a presentation by Porter County Aging and Community Services, the board approved an increase of $20,000 (to $100,000) to sustain expanded transportation services, citing rising denials, higher fuel costs and a growing senior population.
Tony, executive director of Porter County Aging and Community Services, told the Porter County Board of Health the agency provided 18,578 rides in 2025, about 1,700 more than the previous year, and has expanded trips to regional hospitals including Franciscan Health, St. Mary Medical Center, University of Chicago Medicine in Crown Point and the Adam Benjamin Jr. VA outpatient clinic in Crown Point. "We were able to do 18,578 rides in 2025," Tony said, and added that the program replaced aging vehicles with three new buses and three new minivans and hired a part-time dispatcher to eliminate unreturned voicemails.
Tony reported the program is facing capacity constraints: after a staff change in March the agency recorded 109 denials in April and 104 in May, which he said averages to about five missed trips per day. He also said fuel costs have more than doubled since January, rising from roughly $3,500 to about $7,300 in May. Tony told the board that roughly 20% of Porter County's population is over age 65 and asked for continued county investment to preserve access to health care, nutrition and essential services for seniors, veterans and people with disabilities.
Board members asked about partnerships and grant fundraising; Tony said the agency's development director had secured roughly $50,000 in recent grants for other programs and that staff continue to pursue outside funding. The board also confirmed the program charges $1 per one-way trip ($2 round trip), provides free rides for people with disabilities and offers subsidized rides for qualifying residents; the agency does not bill insurance, Medicaid or Medicare for rides.
A board member moved to approve the agency's request to increase county support by $20,000 (from $80,000 to $100,000). On roll call the board approved the motion and the additional funding was authorized to continue the agency's transportation and related services.
The board's approval is a county-level recommendation/authorization of additional support; the agency will continue to pursue grants and other partners to supplement transportation operations. The board did not specify additional reporting requirements beyond the agency's regular reporting schedule.
