Title
To endorse the Senior Services Levy on the November 6th, 2012 ballot as Issue 56.
Body
WHEREAS, the Senior Services Levy appears on this year's ballot in Franklin County as Issue 56 and has been passed by Franklin County voters every 5 years since 1992; and
WHEREAS, the Senior Services Levy has benefited the Central Ohio Area Agency on Aging since its passage in 1992; and
WHEREAS, the Senior Services Levy will allow for the continuation of a myriad of home and community-based care services designed to assist seniors that live at home, such as home-delivered meals, transportation, emergency response systems, and personal care; and
WHEREAS, the number of Franklin County senior citizens needing home care services continues to increase, with the 2010 census showing that Franklin County has the highest percentage statewide of people 65 or older who live at home; and
WHEREAS, the failure of the Senior Services Levy would result in cuts in crucial funding, meaning the the loss of hundreds of thousands of home-delivered meals, medical transportation services, as well as the loss of significant funding for over 90 home care agencies and 40 non-profit grantees, resulting in the scaling back of home care workers; and
WHEREAS, the passage of Issue 56 will allow a strong set of home care programs to continue and allow our older citizens of Columbus that choose to stay at home to continue to thrive; now, therefore
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS:
That this Council hereby endorses the Franklin County Senior Services Levy and encourages all Franklin County voters to Vote Yes on Issue 56 to continue vital services for senior citizens in our community.