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On Nov. 2, 1982, Sedgwick County voters approved an Aging Mill Levy ballot question by a 2 to 1 margin. The question was, “Shall an annual tax, not to exceed one (1) mill, be levied in Sedgwick County to fund a service program for the elderly?”
In the months leading up to the election, seniors campaigned around the county encouraging voters to support the question. Strangely, the county’s legal analysis now opines that the ballot question did not mandate any spending. It only capped spending for senior programs at one mill. Supposedly, we can spend zilch and technically be in compliance.
I respectfully disagree. The spirit of that ballot question was obviously a mandate from the people to take care of our county’s seniors by using up to one mill for programs that helps them be safe and active.
In 1982, the county’s population was about 366,500, and about 10% of residents were age 65 or older. That is slightly less than 40,000 seniors. Data trend lines show that in 2065, we should expect Sedgwick County to grow to about 630,500 residents with more than 22% of them being age 65 or older. That would be roughly 141,000 seniors or nearly six times more than lived here in Sedgwick County when the aging ballot question was adopted.
In the years following the election, county commissioners earmarked about 8/10 of a mill to senior programs. Unfortunately, the City of Wichita chose to defund their senior centers because they believed the new tax was an opportunity for them to shift the burden to the county and use their revenue for other purposes. Thankfully, Derby and Mulvane do provide support to their senior centers.
The latest county budget allocated 0.385 mills. On a $200,000 home, that equals $8.86/year. Meanwhile, senior centers across the county have had their county funding frozen for the last decade, while the number of seniors in the county that need help is growing and the costs to provide services is increasing.
Something must give, or several senior centers will be at risk of closing in the very near future. With that, I would like to put a new, crisp question on the ballot so voters may affirm their support or opposition to funding senior programs that helps our most vulnerable population. Sedgwick County needs a fixed aging mill levy to kill the never-ending political debate which would establish protection for these programs forever.
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