Commission Approves Two Intermittent Staff Positions For Senior Center Amid Growing Demand

The Saline County Senior Center has been approved for two intermittent staff positions to help manage increased demand for services, citing a 62% rise in daily visitors since 2018.

Rosie Walter, Department of Senior Service Director, told county commissioners that the center's average daily population has grown from 313 to 507 since the county absorbed the Commission on Aging in 2018, while staffing levels have remained unchanged at five employees.

"Currently we do not have a receptionist. So with that, there's nobody sitting downstairs because staff are all doing data entry or doing their own jobs," Walter said during the December 2nd meeting.

The proposed positions would assist with reception duties, data entry, dining room maintenance, and general cleaning. One position would cover morning hours and the other afternoons, with each limited to 999 hours annually.

Walter explained that the positions would be funded entirely through donations, not county tax dollars. The center currently has $90,000 in donations and collects an average of $10,754 monthly.

The estimated cost for both positions would be $3,010 per month or approximately $36,116 annually including employment taxes.

The center previously relied on workers from the federally funded Senior Community Services Employment Program (SIR), but that program was suspended in July 2025 and has since resumed with reduced hours and fewer workers.

As intermittent positions, the new staff would not receive benefits such as paid leave, retirement, or insurance, though they would receive annual cost-of-living increases and step increases for every 999 hours worked.

The county commission approved the request.