photo by: Josie Heimsoth/Journal-World

Douglas County Commissioners hear from Executive Director of the Senior Resource Center Megan Poindexter about the potential of the organization becoming a county department on Wednesday, November 20, 2024.

Douglas County commissioners have all voiced their support for the Senior Resource Center becoming a county department, and staff should provide a timeline by early next year to show how a potential transition would look.

On Wednesday, county commissioners heard from the Senior Resource Center about the advantages of transitioning into a county department. These benefits include an additional $232,000 in the projected 2024 budget for personnel expenses, which will help align employee salaries with competitive ranges. There will also be access to the county’s fleet services, which includes basic maintenance, repairs and $20,000 annually for fuel to support the center’s Senior Wheels transportation program.

As the Journal-World reported, these conversations originated during the 2025 budget discussions after the SRC made a request for $94,544 in ongoing supplemental funding to support core services. A closer look at the center’s overall revenue showed that Douglas County’s annual support for the SRC had been increasing over the last 10 years, from 58% of the center’s budget in 2015 to 71% in 2024.

County Administrator Sarah Plinsky said that if an organization is having difficulties with their finances, it’s often perceived that it’s something the organization did wrong. But here, she said, “That is absolutely not the case.”

“(The) SRC did nothing wrong in terms of being in the financial situation that they’re in,” Plinsky said. “Costs are increasing, and we think this service and the quality of the work, it happens, are so important that we want to preserve it.”

Executive Director Megan Poindexter told commissioners that after having conversations with other organizations offering senior services, many have said they operate under a local government entity. And the commissioners all voiced support for this type of arrangement.

Commissioner Patrick Kelly said if there were a way to create a system to better serve the people of Douglas County, the county should take the time to do so. Commissioner Karen Willey said she valued the county’s seniors and that there was still a lot of work that needed to be done. And Commissioner Shannon Reid said that the SRC provides unique services and that it would make sense to institutionalize those services in the county.

The county staff estimates that it will be ready to meet with commissioners again either before the end of the year or at the beginning of 2025, after consulting with the SRC about a timeline for the potential transition and how it will work.

In the meantime, staffers will continue exploring remaining questions surrounding funding, as they have noted that it is difficult to know what cost efficiencies could be achieved and what the additional impacts would be if the county moves forward with making the SRC a county department.