Washtenaw County seeks organizations’ input on senior millage before dollars begin to flow
A new request for information, aimed at local organizations that serve seniors, is designed to help Washtenaw County shape its spending of millage funds.
Washtenaw County’s older adults face innumerable challenges as America’s senior population reaches record highs, but the county’s new Older Persons Millage is preparing to deploy its first dollars to address some of their needs. The county’s new Office of Aging Services (OAS) has issued a request for information (RFI), aimed at local organizations that serve seniors. Open now through July 31, the RFI is designed to help OAS shape its policy on spending funds from the millage, which was approved by 57% of county voters in 2024.
The 24-page RFI is a formal way for organizations to indicate early interest in millage funding and to have a say in which county resources go to which senior service programs. The RFI includes a series of fact-finding questions so OAS staff can determine systemically where problems lie. Organizations may formally request grant funding from the millage through a request for proposals, expected to follow later this year.
“[The RFI is] fact-finding, making sure we’re doing a formal analysis [from] a collection of all of the different organizations and providers serving older adults,” says Shannon Effler, director of OAS.
In July, OAS will also hold four public meetings where organization representatives can share their perspectives directly with county officials. Effler says these meetings are also intended to be networking events where senior service leaders can meet, develop plans to cooperate and collaborate, and prevent service duplication.
All four of the two-hour meetings will be held at 4135 Washtenaw Ave. in Pittsfield Township and open to the public. Health and wellbeing will be the focus of the July 8 meeting, the July 9 meeting will cover housing and capital projects, July 15 will cover community living and support services, and the July 16 meeting will cover tech and “innovative and gap-filling services.” Meeting livestreams will also be available. All the meetings will start at 1 p.m. except for the July 15 meeting, which will start at 10 a.m.
To submit a response to the RFI or to find more information, click here.
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