CASPER, Wyoming – Administrators of senior service programs held their final town hall meeting Thursday to make their case for a countywide taxing district to support programs like the Casper Senior Center and Meals on Wheels.

The measure will be voted on in the primary elections on August 20.

Despite intensive grant-raising and annual fundraising efforts, the programs have fallen about $200,000 short of their operating costs each year for the past five years, said Aimee Fleming, executive director of Central Wyoming Senior Services and the Casper Senior Center. If that trend continues, the programs won’t be around much longer, she said.

Fleming said the services the programs offer include visiting homebound seniors, helping with light housework, learning about Medicaid and giving family caregivers a needed break. They also purchase specialized equipment and rent out three pieces of it daily.

“These are necessary, vital services that help alleviate isolation and prevent premature institutionalization,” Fleming told the crowd at the senior center Thursday. “More than one in four residents live alone. Many of them have no one… We see this all the time.”

Meals on Wheels volunteers deliver 750 meals a day, Fleming said. “For some, the delivery person is the only person they see that day.”

Rosemary King told the crowd that she has been a volunteer driver for Meals on Wheels for 42 years. “Name me another organization that employs volunteers for half that amount of time,” she said. (And) I think our drivers benefit almost more from our program than the recipients.”

“I was housebound for three years,” said Ron Strang, who uses a power wheelchair. He said he goes to the senior center five days a week and looks forward to nutritious meals and distraction with cards and puzzles while his wife is at work. “It’s exciting and fun. Without it, I don’t know what I would do other than sit at home all day, watch TV and enjoy Meals on Wheels.”

Fleming said there are currently 75 people on the waiting list for services from eligible programs. “We don’t have the money to hire the staff,” she said.

The ballot bill proposes a tax of one per thousand, although the law allows for two per thousand. Casper residents currently pay 72 per thousand in property taxes. Counties and cities each collect 12 per thousand. The largest portion, 25 per thousand, goes to school districts.

Under Wyoming’s property tax formula, the additional tax for the senior services district would add $19 to the final property tax bill for a $200,000 home. That would generate about $1.7 million per year.

Under the law, if voters approve the proposal in the primary, the money generated by the district would be the responsibility of a board of trustees that would be elected on Nov. 5. None of the directors or staff of eligible senior programs could serve on the board of trustees.

The programs would then apply for funds from the trustees similar to a grant, Fleming said. The first request she would make would be for over $300,000 just to get back to breaking even.

Looking to the future, she told Oil City News she would like to see the senior center redeveloped into a community center that engages youth and encourages activities like hiking, kayaking and biking. Physical and social connection is key to health and longevity, Fleming said.

She added that the chair exercise class at the senior center had nearly 70 participants last session. Their meals must meet nutritional standards, and because they rely heavily on grants (often for special needs rather than general operations), they are used to rigorous annual audits.

“We apply for every grant we can get,” Fleming said, explaining that state grants have been cut and competition for grants among other nonprofits is fierce. Meanwhile, nine other counties in the state have taken advantage of the tax district funding option.

“Fundraising takes time away from general operations,” said Kim Latka, treasurer of the Casper Senior Center board. “What we really give them to do is apply for grants and run the center.”

Fleming also wanted to clear up some misunderstandings surrounding the proposal.

Voters would have the opportunity to renew the tax district after two years and then again every four years.

The senior citizen tax district proposal is unrelated to the city’s six-cent proposals on the ballot in the general election.

Fleming also said some people were told the proposal was not legitimate because it did not come about through a petition. Although the law provides that route, it also provides a path through the Natrona County Commission, which voted in June to add the proposal to the ballot.

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