Many people feel taking care of our seniors is a civic responsibility. In fact Grand Traverse County voters recently approved a millage to fund the Commission on Aging by an 80% margin.

While that's a big number, another number stood out to a viewer: the amount the Commission on Aging spends on salaries.

He had questions. The answers we found for him are the subject of tonight's Fact Finder Report.

Ed LaMontagne is a small business owner and knows what it takes to balance the books. So he was a little surprised by the numbers he saw in the annual report for Grand Traverse County Commission on Aging.

He says, "I think it's an excessive amount! $1.5 million dollars in wages and benefits!"

The commission is funded almost solely from a tax payer approved millage. Every year it brings in about $2.2 million and it spends about $1.5 million on personnel expenses. That's about 70% of its budget.

LaMontagne says, "even though I am a senior citizen and working, there are people out there who need money and help and if they're spending a million and a half on wages and benefits, who is getting the million and a half?"

We took his question to the Director for the Commission on Aging, Georgia Durga.

She says, "I understand because it's a high cost, but it is what we do. We provide a human service and you can't provide a human service without a human doing it."

Durga says of the commission's 41 employees most provide a direct service to the more than 1,700 clients. That includes everything from nurses and home health aids to house cleaners and lawn mowers.

Those workers can make anywhere from $10.38/hour to $20.00/hour depending on the job. And while she feels they're actually a little underpaid, she says it's not up to her.

Durga says, "We are a county department so we agree to follow all their policies and procedures and one of those things we agree to is pay scale and this is the pay scale for the whole county."

So while the Commission on Aging does spend 70% of its budget on salaries, she says it's those workers who are out there actively helping seniors which is their mission, it's not going just to clerks and office workers. She says the commission only spends about 5% of its budget on administrative costs.

What do you think about this? Durga says they feel very accountable to tax payers since you are the ones footing the bill for what they do. So let me know what you think and I'll pass along your comments to her. Here's a link to the budget if you'd like to read it for yourself.