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Alpena County senior millage applications available

News Photo by Steve Schulwitz A group of people enjoy the Plaza pool in April. Pool managers fear rising energy costs could impact finances in the coming months.

Many of the services offered to senior citizens in Alpena County are supported financially from property tax funds from the county-wide, older persons millage, and provide people aged 60 and older with needed assistance, education, and recreation opportunities.

The funding helps pay for programs such as Meals on Wheels and assists seniors with challenging tasks like medication management and Medicaid and Medicare navigation.

The process for allocating funding has begun, and groups or organizations wishing to apply for 2022 funding for senior initiatives have until June 1, at 4 p.m. to submit the funding application to the commissioners office.

In 2018, two senior millage proposals passed. One was a four-year renewal of the 0.53-mill tax for senior services, and the second was a 0.16-mill tax that makes up for tax funds lost because of the Headlee Amendment.

Headlee is a state law that limits local governments’ revenue in certain cases unless voters approve tax rates.

That means the 2022 allocation is the last, unless renewals are requested next year.

Craig Zelazny, the Alpena County Older Persons Committee Chairman, said he expects between $530,000 and $540,000 to be available for allocation for next year’s projects.

He said the money from the property tax is critical for sustaining and improving the lives of seniors in the area, and without it, many programs, classes, and needed services could struggle to survive.

“This millage is a very important asset for our seniors and without it a lot of programs would disappear without the generosity of the voters who approve the millage,” he said.

Zelazny said most years the dollar amount requested exceeds what is available, but the committee does its best to make sure the money is divvied up fairly and invested responsibly.

The Plaza Pool, which is owned by the county, receives funding from the tax to help keep the cost of pool use affordable for seniors. Plaza Pool Director Krista Morrow said many seniors live on fixed incomes and the funding the pool receives allows older people to use the facility for half price. She said there are many programs enjoyed by seniors that help improve their health, and allows them to socialize with one another. She said several hundred seniors use the pool each year, many of them often.

“Pretty much anything we offer, seniors participate in,” Morrow said. “All of the workout classes, private swim lessons, and family swim, lap swimming, everything we have here is participated in by seniors. If we didn’t have the millage, I truly believe they wouldn’t be able to pay the full rate, and couldn’t afford to come to the pool.”

Once the applications are submitted, Zelazny said, they are forwarded to the committee members in July, and meetings are held where applicants give presentations and answer questions about their proposed projects.

During the September committee meeting, the allocation recommendations are finalized and presented to the Alpena County Finance Committee in October, which puts its stamp-of-approval on them. The full board of commissioners votes to approve the recommendations at its October meeting.

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