PHOTO BY BRENNA WHITE / THE VILLAGE REPORTER
FINANCIAL ISSUES … Sarah Stubblefield addresses the financial shortfall the Department of Aging is preparing to face in 2026.
By: Brenna White
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
publisher@thevillagereporter.com
The Williams County Commissioners met on March 5, 2026, to hear a software proposal for real estate, review EMS transportation numbers and discuss a Department of Aging update regarding county senior centers.
Sarah Stubblefield, Executive Director of the Department of Aging, provided 2025 statistics. She reported a total of 2,896 seniors served within Williams County in the last year.
With nearly 10,000 senior citizens in the county, Stubblefield estimates that the department has served around one-third of total residents over the age of 60.
“During that time, we provided 137,718 meals. Our hotshots continue to cover over 75,000 miles,” Stubblefield said. The home delivered meals combined with the senior centers provide nearly 500 meals a day to residents.
“We provide meals, activities, and programming through our centers. We do home-delivered meals, transportation, and we also support older adults and their caregivers with our insurance applications, financial planning, and other social services,” she explained. The department can offer a total of 76 evidence-based programs.
Stubblefield continued with the positives the senior centers can offer the community. “There’s research that shows that centers reduce falls, they reduce hospital stays, insurance spending for our seniors, and they reduce calls to emergency services,” she said.
The Department of Aging reported a financial shortfall in 2025. The department also expects an additional loss of around $143,000 for fiscal year 2026.
With no added revenues, the shortfall is not expected to change. Stubblefield will have to rely on the carryover balance to cover the rising expenses, but that too has a limited amount of funds available and is not a long-term solution.
“I don’t receive any money from the commissioners,” Stubblefield stated.
“There is no general revenue that comes to me. I am supported 70% with levy funds, 15% through the Area Office of Aging. Fifteen percent of my money comes from donations directly from the seniors who are using our services, or from the community who wants to support our program.”
The Department of Aging is currently “reimagining” its senior centers to combat its expenditures.
For example, the department is reevaluating position hours and site-manager locations. The department is also pursuing 2026 grant applications from the United Way and Parkview Hospital.
“We’re going to look at the eligibility of individuals to make sure they really have a need for our services,” Stubblefield added. “So that I know I am putting my service dollars to those who need it the most.”
The Pioneer Senior Center is being considered a pilot for some of these new changes. The site-manager opens the center as normal in the mornings, but leaves to serve another community in the afternoon.
While allowed to spend the afternoon as normal in the community center, no lunch is served and there is no leadership guidance.
“We’re going to have to re-imagine the Department of Aging before I go to the voters and say I need a new levy or I need more levy funds.
“I really need to make sure I’m doing everything internally to work it out with what I have first,” she said.
The last time the Department of Aging ran a levy was in 2005 – it brings in $700,000 annually. This is a flat rate and has not been renewed to account for the rising costs of expenses in the last twenty years.
“It’s so hard as a commissioner to decide what does society want us to pay for,” Rummel said.
“Do they want more taxes for that service or do you want less taxes and less services? We could close down all those centers except Montpelier and Bryan and that’ll balance the budget. We’re going to have to balance this budget.”
The commissioners and Stubblefield made it clear that they do not wish or intend to close any of the senior centers in Williams County.
“Everywhere I go, all the centers agree on one thing – a center close to them that has their own community feel to it,” Stubblefield affirmed.
The group agreed that the sense of community is invaluable to the seniors’ overall health.
Auditor Vickie Grimm and Treasurer Kellie Gray visited the commissioners to present a new property tax software proposal. Three different software companies were reviewed, but ISSG, Inc. was considered the best offer.
ISSG is an Ohio-based property tax software company that provides a management system for auditors and treasurers.
The software carries a $159,000 annual cost with no implementation fees and an estimated 4% increase each year.
The current software Grimm and Gray use has been in decline since 2018. They often experience long response times that delay organizations from receiving checks.
ISSG is also cloud-based and provides record storage, which could help the Records Department with any potential storage issues. The commissioners approved the pair to enter into a contract with the company, with an estimated start date of mid-2027.
Kyle Brigle and Jesse Brumbaugh met with the board to discuss Corrections Center of Northwest Ohio (CCNO) inmate transportation statistics and to review a proposed contract for their transportation services.
Brigle stated that over the past four years, Williams County EMS has provided aid and transportation services an average of 68 times a year for CCNO.
For the Juvenile Detention Center (JDC), EMS averages about seven runs a year. That average is likely inflated, as 2022 and 2023 saw unusually high call numbers due to exceptional circumstances.
The discussion shifted toward the expenditures incurred during CCNO inmate transportation.
“Fulton County pays all of CCNO’s bills for them,” Rummel stated.
“We all should pay a portion because we pay into CCNO. We should pay Fulton County a portion of money to process the bills.”
“If they’re bringing folks from outside our area into our area, and we have to provide service, the expense should go along with it. How do we become a better partner and make it fair for everybody?” Rummel questioned.
A proposal for the CCNO Board to review was drawn up by County Administrator Vond Hall.
Within the contract, it states the county is a hired provider of ALS and BLS transportation. The county will provide an invoice for services to collect.
Brigle and Brumbaugh will send the contract to Ohio Billing Service for review before proposing it in front of the CCNO Board.
With no further business the meeting adjourned at 10:56 a.m. The next Williams County Commissioners meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, March 10, 2026, at 9:00 a.m.
Related: Clinton Township Trustees also discuss future of old senior center building