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Senior issues topic at meeting
By Greg Little, CovingtonLeader.com
August 27, 2007
Sen. Mark Norris of Collierville talks with Ann Barron following the meeting at Brighton High School. (Photo by Greg Little)
The issues were as wide ranging as those in attendance.
Some wanted better transportation, others a better parking lot at the existing building and others a new building all together.
What was being discussed is the current state of affairs for senior citizens in Tipton County. The meeting was held last week at Brighton High School and hosted by the Tipton County Commission on Aging.
Well over 100 people attended the gathering, which was a chance for them to give input on the issues facing senior citizens.
“You truly have a wonderful program in Tipton County,” said Kathryn Coulter of the Aging Commission of the Mid-South.
Coulter was the facilitator for the meeting, which was an open discussion about the issues.
When the floor was open for discussion, the issues were widely varied.
One senior citizen asked about the condition of the parking lot at the TCCA building in Covington. She said improvements need to be made to help the seniors.
Others cited the need for an additional restroom in the downstairs portion of the building.
Covington Mayor David Gordon said money for that restroom was in last year’s budget but the bid was too high. He said additional funds have been added this year and the new restroom should be completed by the end of the year.
That drew applause from many in the crowd.
Another person suggested there needs to be more room for exercise classes while another person suggested moving some of the activities to other sites around the county.
Margaret Fleming, director of TCCA, said her organization is the “umbrella” agency for seniors in the county and it is based out of the Covington center.
However, Fleming also said that Munford, Garland and Brighton also have senior citizen centers and “we want to expand TCCA into those other locations.”
Another person asked if the transportation program could be expanded to seven days a week, saying some people want to go to church on Sundays but have no way of getting to and from the church.
Fleming said with the current funding formula, it would not be feasible to expand transportation. She said it cost $72,000 for transportation last year and that stretched the budget to its fullest.
One man in the audience said he thinks elected officials need to spend more money on senior citizens.
He said taxes have been raised to fund schools, citing the wheel tax and cigarette tax.
“It all goes to the kids,” said the man. “We are being ignored by our government.”
“I think there are enough people in this room to make an impact on public officials,” said Coulter.
Sen. Mark Norris, R-Collierville who represents Tipton County, then addressed the group.
“Communication is a two-way street,” said Norris.
He said sometimes, the message of the policy makers doesn’t get to the senior citizens and the same works in reverse when lawmakers don’t hear what the seniors feel is necessary to make their lives better.
That, said Norris, was the reason he came to last week’s meeting.
Norris did tell the audience he had been working for several years to pass a property tax freeze for senior citizens. That constitutional amendment did pass last year and the legislature put in place the mechanisms for local governments to freeze the tax levels of senior citizens.
He said city and county governments can vote to freeze those taxes at the current level.
The senator said he was not pleased with the final outcome of the legislation setting the income caps on the program.
In Tipton County, the cap is an annual income of $26,150. Norris said he wanted to see it much higher but felt that could not have been accomplished in the climate of last year’s session.
Norris also reminded citizens it is the local governments who have to vote to freeze the taxes, not the state.
He also said a Credit Freeze Act is being developed where persons can freeze their credit reports from being probed without their permission.
This, he said, will help in the area of identity theft as well as person who prey upon the elderly.
“That’s the kind of thing we want to communicate to you,” said Norris.
He also reminded senior citizens of the web site he developed, www.tennesseniors.com, which keeps seniors updated on current issues and programs in the state and nationally.
Fleming told the audience the Tipton County Legislative Body and the city of Covington have been “very generous” when it comes to supporting the senior citizens program. And though she said one day there will be a new building in the county, she reminded people under the current system, TCCA doesn’t have to pay taxes or utilities on the facility.
Fleming also said for changes to be made to improve the lives of senior citizens, it’s going to take the effort of all individuals.
“We have to do it as a population, we can’t do it on our own,” said Fleming.
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