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Douglas County hears requests for senior center pay fixes, more paid drivers and van replacement funding
Summary
County staff and senior-service leaders asked commissioners for money to finish pay-compression adjustments, fund additional driver positions for the Senior Wheels program and seed a vehicle replacement fund; officials said KDOT grants help but timing and matching create gaps.
Commissioners at the Douglas County Board of Commissioners budget hearing on July 9 heard that the Senior Resource Center needs supplemental funds to finish pay-compression adjustments and to stabilize its transportation program.
Megan Poindexter, department manager for the Senior Resource Center, said the county set aside $250,000 during the center’s merger into county government to cover transition costs but that some compression adjustments remain. “That 250,000 that was initially allocated was based on best estimates of what that transition would be,” Poindexter said, adding that staff were brought in at the lowest point of the McGrath pay scale and that outstanding equity adjustments underlie the supplemental request.
Poindexter and commissioners spent significant time on the program that provides senior rides. Asked whether volunteers could fill driver shifts, Poindexter said volunteers have sustained service in Eudora and Baldwin in the past but that recruiting has fallen off and that unreliability of volunteer availability has pushed the program toward hiring paid drivers. “When you have a driver who suddenly doesn't show up for any reason, that impacts the 5 to 10 people who needed a ride that day significantly,” she said, framing paid positions as a reliability and safety issue for scheduled medical appointments.
Poindexter said the senior vans cost about $67,000 each and that the center relies on KDOT grants when available, while asking for county seed funding to provide matching dollars and a cushion when grant timelines or crash replacements require immediate purchases. “Those [KDOT grants] aren't guaranteed,” she said, calling the program administratively burdensome but valuable.
Commissioners also debated whether bringing the Senior Resource Center into county government would save money. “It was gonna be a cost reduction if we were able to bring the senior resource center under the county in the long term,” Commissioner Anderson said, noting that her notes recorded an expectation of savings; other commissioners said efficiencies and value were expected but that outright dollar savings were never assured.
No formal actions were taken during the discussion; staff said supplemental requests for remaining compression adjustments and driver FTE will be considered as part of the 2027 budget process.
