Traverse City Record-Eagle

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June 16, 2012

County board approves COA fee increases

BY JAMES RUSSELL jrussell@record-eagle.com

TRAVERSE CITY — Seniors will pay more — up to as much as 200 percent more — for some Commission on Aging services.

The Grand Traverse County Board of Commissioners this week voted 6 to 3 to hike COA fees to offset a $400,000 budget shortfall stemming largely from decreased property tax revenue.

The proposal will increase the agency's hourly rates for low-income seniors from $1.15 per hour to $4 per hour. Those same seniors also will pay $15 per month for the personal emergency response system, up from the current $1.15 per month.

"We worked hard and our staff worked hard to come up with the best proposal we could," said COA Director Georgia Durga. "I'm not happy that we have to raise our fees, but we're not done yet. We'll continue to look at things, including suggestions from the board."

The COA provides services that range from house cleaning and lawn mowing to respite and foot care. Seniors are charged on an income-based sliding scale that ranges from $1.15 an hour to up to $31.50 an hour. Seniors with less than $908 a month of income right now pay $1.15 an hour, but that rate will jump to $4 per hour in 2013.

Those making less than $1,624 a month will see charges spike from $2.30 to $6 an hour.

The two lowest income groups comprise 69 percent of the COA's client base.

Commissioner Christine Maxbauer voted in the minority against the proposal, along with fellow commissioners Ross Richardson and Robert Hentschel. She said the scale of the fee increases will place an undue burden on those with the lowest incomes.

"I believe there are other options available rather than substantially raising fees for clients who can least afford it," she said. "A small reasonable increase I think is acceptable, but for our lowest-income clients, I just don't know how they're going to handle this."

Maxbauer believes examining staff levels is one alternative that should have been considered.

"I think we need to have a mix of full-time employees and contract employees for our home-chore services," she said. "Right now it's all full-time. I think we need a mix, and it would allow us to continue to have low fees ... for low-income clients."

Durga said the agency plans to examine the suggestion, along with a recommendation from the county board to tap into some of the group's fund balance. The agency will explore staffing options too, she said.

"We have been looking at that for (the) last couple years. That is definitely something that is on our plate," Durga said.

The board approved initiating the fee increases as early as October, but Durga said she plans to ask for an extension to at least January 2013.

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