The Williams County Department of Aging presented an extensive update highlighting high demand for home-delivered meals, transportation, and supportive services, and emphasized that federal Older Americans Act funding runs out by March each year, leaving the department heavily reliant on local levy dollars. The commissioners and staff discussed that the department is already out of Area Agency on Aging funds, that most of the year is funded with levies dating back to 2005, and that without renewed or expanded levy support, services and staffing may need to be reduced. They also raised the need for a second licensed social worker to support exploding caseloads, with an estimated cost of about 80000, and acknowledged that this would likely require levy funding or another funding source.The group agreed that the Department of Aging must provide a five-year budget and justification for the levy and any staffing expansions, with a letter due by August 2026 to place the levy on the ballot. For vendors, this signals open planning around financial modeling, levy campaign messaging, operations redesign, and potentially outsourced services and technology to optimize meal delivery, transportation routing, client assessment, and case management as the department tries to stretch limited dollars.

Parkview Health is providing a data hub that helps track outcomes; the department is considering levy sizing, a five-year budget, and possibly adding a second social worker position.