In many ways aging and aging solutions are local. Ohio takes that to another level by passing property tax levies to help fund aging services and supplement shrinking state and federal government funds. It All Started With LoisIn the late 1970s a retiree named Lois Brown Dale was looking for financial support to build and operate a senior center in a small county in Southwest Ohio. She believed the public would support such an effort through local taxes but was informed that placing such a referendum on the ballot would require special legislation. Undeterred, she successfully lobbied the Ohio legislature to allow counties to earmark local funds for elder services. More than wenty-five years later, 59 of Ohio’s 88 counties have property tax levies raising nearly $95 million for services for older people.A 90% Passage Rate– These levies vary greatly from county to county in size and revenue generated, from a .10 mill levy raising $9,000 a year to a .85 mill levy collecting $21 million in the same time period.- The specific services most often funded by these levies include nutrition, transportation, in-home services (such as home-delivered meals and home health aides) and senior center administration.- More than 90 percent of Ohio’s senior service levies have been successful at the ballot box, with an average passage rate of 65 percent of the vote.