Mill levy passes for area senior centers

By an overwhelming margin the voters of Lincoln County approved a mill levy increase of 1.25 mills to help fund the three senior centers operated by the Lincoln County Council on Aging. The final tally was 4,519 in favor with 2,878 opposed.

The levy increase is estimated to add $45,000 per year to the collective budget of the three centers located in Troy, Libby and Eureka. The original mill levy, also 1.25 mills, was passed in 2000 and has not been increased since.

“We’re all pretty excited. It’ll be six months or a year before we see any money from the increase, but it’s really going to help with day to day operations at all three centers,” Ron Higgins, the council’s president, said.

The money will be used to help defray increasing costs associated with food for the meals program, utilities and insurance, which are always on the rise, according to Higgins. In order to maintain operations, the centers aim to bring in approximately $80,000 per year more than they have been receiving in county, state and federal funding. This deficit is largely made up with fundraising events, such as bingo in Libby and Eureka, and aided by the rental of some apartment properties in Troy. The levy increase will make it easier for the centers to maintain their current level of services for Lincoln County’s aging population.

The funds are disbursed among the centers according to a formula that was set in 2000, when the first mill levy was approved. The Libby Care Center receives 46 percent of the funding, with Troy and Eureka getting 27 percent each. Higgins indicated that the council determined to reevaluate and update that distribution formula at their last meeting. That should occur early next year.

Higgins extended an invitation to everyone in the county to visit the centers and see the work that is being done on behalf of the county’s seniors.

The last time voters of Lincoln County approved a mill levy increase was in 2006, according to Leigh Riggleman of the elections office. That was a two-mill levy intended to replace ambulances in the county, increasing the ambulance levy from three to five mills.