LISBON — Columbiana County voters will be asked Tuesday 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.

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 overseen by the Columbiana County Department of Job and Family Services 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.

“The senior services levy is a vital service to our residents in Columbiana County that are over the age of 60. This levy provides support when all other avenues have been exhausted. The levy helps some of our most vulnerable residents with anything from home health aides to ramps for a safe egress of their home,” county Department of Job and Family Services Director Rachel Ketterman wrote in a statement.

She explained that for home repairs, they make sure the residents own their own home and that they’re not renting.

“We are diligent in making sure we are good stewards of the taxpayers’ dollars for this levy,” she said.

 During this last cycle of the current levy, the senior services levy was not only able to assist more than 3,000 residents, but was used to apply and be awarded a state grant to assist with projects over and above what the levy could have accomplished without it.

“I thank the taxpayers of Columbiana County more than they can imagine for assisting us in assuring that the seniors of Columbiana County are able to stay safely in their homes as long as possible,” Ketterman wrote.

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 previously that home repairs can include anything from installation of grab bars to installation of 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.