LISBON — Columbiana County voters will be asked this fall to renew a 0.5-mill senior services levy for another five years to continue supporting services that promote independence and safety for county residents age 60 and older.

On Wednesday, county commissioners approved placing the levy renewal on the Nov. 4 ballot at the request of county Department of Job and Family Services Director Rachel Ketterman. DJFS serves as the administrator of the levy and this will be the third time the levy is up for a vote after initially being approved by voters in 2016 and renewed once.

The levy is expected to generate $1,024,400 per year. As a renewal, the levy won’t cost homeowners any more than they’re already paying. For the owner of a home valued at $100,000, that totals $12.98 per year, roughly $1.08 per month.

“Our number one goal is to make sure that seniors have a safe place to stay. If we can assist them with minor home repairs or homemaker services to remain in their home, then we’ve done something to improve their life and helped them remain in an environment where they’re safe, happy and comfortable rather than having to look at alternate living arrangements and removing them from their home,” Ketterman said.

Services provided include homemaker and home health services, pest control for sanitation support, dumpster services for safe living environments, minor home repairs and accessibility modifications, comprehensive case management and public guardianship for vulnerable seniors.

In 2024, the total number of seniors served was 760 with $859,233 in levy dollars spent. There were 6,110 case management hours provided, with 290 assessments and 499 reassessments. The number one service provided was homemaker services with 239 clients served. The next highest was home repair services with 163 clients served, then 52 receiving guardianship services, 33 receiving extermination services, 29 receiving home care equipment services, 14 receiving appliance assistance, six each receiving payee services and utility assistance and five receiving dumpster services.

Ketterman explained that home repairs can include anything from installation of grab bars to ramps, with a $3,000 annual limit and a $5,000 lifetime limit per client. A client must be 60 years old or older. She said that a case manager will be assigned and go to the home of the potential client and do a home assessment, looking at their need and their finances. There’s a sliding scale for any co-pay, dependent on the person’s monthly income according to the federal poverty guidelines. For example, a single person with a monthly income of up to $1,255 would pay nothing, while a single person with a monthly income of $3,130 and up would pay a 50 percent co-pay.

According to a 2023 community senior needs survey, the number one helpful service was housework, followed by home repairs/modifications and laundry, shopping for essential items, case management, delivered meals, life alert button, and personal care.

In other DJFS business, commissioners agreed to increase the spending ceiling on the contract for the Christina House Domestic Violence Program provided by the Catholic Charities Regional Agency by $10,000, for a new ceiling of $85,000 for the contract which expires Sept. 30. Funding comes from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families fund.

Commissioners approved the hiring of the following social service worker IIs in the social services division: McKenzie Ruthrauff of Salem; Julia Reynolds and Camile Fowler, both of Youngstown; and Ashley Brownfield of Lisbon.