Cass County Undersheriff Clint Roach and County Prosecutor Victor Fitz tag teamed at the July 16 Marcellus Township Board meeting to ask for public support of the County Drug Enforcement millage renewal.
The Drug Enforcement renewal is one of two county-wide millage requests voters will decide during the August 6, 2024, primary election. The other renewal request is for services to older citizens.
“This renewal is very important to us,” Roach says. “The drug team is more than a drug team. When we have a major crime that happens in Cass County or something serious, generally its related to drugs, which is, unfortunately, a given. To be able to have a drug team to call in to investigate those things is huge for us. This millage is important.”
Prosecutor Fitz picked up the baton, so to speak, as Roach headed to Howard Township and echoed the need for the renewal. Fitz, Cass County’s longest serving prosecutor in the history of the county, says “homicide is one of the biggest things we deal with.”
“We’ve done a really good job on homicide cases. It’s [Drug Enforcement Millage] been on the ballot five times and each time its passed. I know the drug business; it’s an unsavory business. Drugs and murder are inextricably combined. Methamphetamine was the worst drug I’d seen until Fentanyl came along. Now they’re the twin columns of destruction for not only our county but for the whole state and the nation.
“I’ve worked with a lot of drug teams, and I know the importance of having an effective drug team. The drug team from my experience is the best local unit. They do a phenomenal job. We really need this.”
Ron and Marcia Lofts brought a similar message to the Marcellus Township Board meeting on June 18. Ron Lofts, board treasurer for the Cass County Council on Aging, spoke in support of the COA’s millage renewal request also on the August 6 ballot.
Since 1976, voters in Cass County have supported a millage for services to older citizens. The COA provides a menu of services designed to assist people in aging well.
And the population is aging. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the Social Security area population—the relevant population for estimating Social Security payroll taxes and benefits—increases from 342 million people in 2024 to 383 million people in 2054. As growth of the population age 65 or older outpaces growth of younger age groups, the population continues to become older, on average. In 2024, the ratio of people ages 25 to 64 to people age 65 or older will be 2.9 to 1, CBO projects. By 2054, it will be 2.2 to 1.
Not only is the population aging, but the number of centenarians is also on the rise. According to projections from the U.S. Census Bureau, the number of Americans ages 100 and older is projected to more than quadruple over the next three decades, from an estimated 101,000 in 2024 to about 422,000 in 2054. Centenarians currently make up just 0.03% of the overall U.S. population, and they are expected to reach 0.1% in 2054.
Thanks to the continued support from the residents of Cass County, the COA is well positioned to assist the county’s aging population by providing services to ensure that seniors eat well, stay physically and mentally active, and socially connected.
The numbers are a great indicator of the COA’s reach in the county:
In 2023, they served over 67,556 free and low-cost meals, provided 2,671 days of care to participants, provided over 10,572 hours of in-home help, provided 935 medical transports, and Handy Helper volunteers built 39 wheelchair accessible ramps at no charge.
The COA also offers senior assistance services, such as Medicare/Medicaid counseling, hearing and foot clinics, and fitness and lifelong learning opportunities
“The millage provides about two-thirds of our budget,” Lofts says, “and the Area Agency on Aging provides some [support]. Each year, we do balance the budget and do not have to borrow.”
He stressed the fact that the request is a renewal, not a request for new or additional tax revenue.
The COA operates two locations in the county, the Lowe Center at 60525 Decatur Rd, Cassopolis, and Front Street Crossing, 227 S. Front, Dowagiac.
For more information on the COA, visit casscoa.org
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