Muskingum County Center for Seniors Fiscal Forecast

ZANESVILLE, Ohio – The Muskingum County Center for Seniors has seen
a drastic increase in the number of seniors served each month as the
Baby Boomer generation ages into the senior citizen population. With
more seniors to serve comes the need to spend more money; and as a
result funding challenges for the Center for Seniors. Ann Combs,
Executive Director of the Center for Seniors, says spending has
risen.

“We’ve noticed
that our spending is higher than normal in the past few years and
that’s directly related back to the number of seniors that we’re
serving in the community; and the need for dollars to be able to meet
those services.”

The most expensive
and most utilized program at the center is the nutrition program;
which includes additional staffing and vehicular costs.

“The nutrition
program that the Center for Seniors provides is by far the most
expensive program or line of service that we provide to the seniors.
Both congregate and home delivered meals are costly. It’s not only
the food that we’re providing—but it’s also the vehicles that
we maintain. It is the employees that actually bring those meals to
seniors in their homes.”

While the Center for
Seniors utilizes levy funds to operate a portion of it’s
programming, those funds cover less than 50 percent of the total cost
of running the center. The remainder of funds are sourced through tax
deductible donations made to the Center for Seniors. Donations can be
made by check or by calling the Center for Seniors.