A nonprofit agency that helps needy Douglas County residents pay rent and utility bills is merging with the Ballard Community Center.

The Emergency Services Council will become a department of the Ballard Center, 708 Elm St., starting Wednesday. Officials said the change would allow staff members to help with the previously all-volunteer council.

“It was getting to a real burden for volunteers to do all the administrative work,” said Chip Blaser, development director of the Ballard Center. “The group was hoping to streamline the process for applicants and agencies, and make it easier for everybody.”

The change came at the suggestion of United Way of Douglas County, which said earlier this year it would consider pulling funding from the council if it didn’t find another agency to join. United Way officials said the council needed more structure.

William Arnold, a council board member, said the group considered proposals from Penn House and the Ballard Center. He said the Ballard Center offered a more up-to-date computer system for records and more staff members to process applications.

Jo Bryant, United Way director, said she was pleased with the agreement between the two agencies.

“The mission is extremely important,” she said. “(Emergency Services Council) will now benefit from having an administrative structure. It’s nice to have another agency step up to help out.”

The council was founded in 1972. Arnold said it would distribute about $50,000 to 1,000 people this year.

Blaser said people applying for aid shouldn’t see much of a difference. Applications still will be accepted at six locations: Salvation Army, 946 N.H.; Penn House, 1035 Pa.; ECKAN, 1600 Haskell Ave.; Women’s Transitional Care Services, 2518 Ridge Court; Lawrence Senior Center, 745 Vt.; and the Ballard Center.

Families are eligible to receive up to $200 in a one-year period, which can come in up to two installments.

Blaser said finding additional funding for the council would be a priority, considering only about 25 percent of applicants receive assistance.

“There’s always a much greater demand for the service than the dollars allow,” he said. “That’s just a dollars-and-cents problem — there’s not enough funding.”