By COLE REIF
Great Bend Post
Compared to what they received in the 2024 City of Great Bend budget, the Great Bend Senior Center requested the largest increase of any outside agency in their budget proposal for 2025. The Senior Center requested just over $309,000, which would be an increase of more than $73,000.
Senior Center Director Brenda Lebbin said the additional funds would help cover a rise in maintenance costs for their transportation vehicles and better salaries for their employees.
"None of my employees, including myself, have any benefits," said Lebbin. "We pay our people $9 an hour. I'm losing good people because we don't pay them anything. There's no retirement, no insurance, no nothing. We need to help the eight fulltime employees that work from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. on salary without overtime."
The Commission on Aging also serves as the general transportation service for the senior community. The transportation service conducted more than 20,000 rides last year. The Senior Center, at 2005 Kansas Avenue in Great Bend, served more than 48,000 meals for seniors and the Meals on Wheels program.
"We need to keep doing what we need to do for our senior citizens because they are very important to our community," said Lebbin. "These people don't even want to go home for the weekends. This is their home. They come to the Senior Center everyday, especially the widowed ones. They stay for lunch. They stay there all afternoon."
The Golden Belt Humane Society and Great Bend Public Library were the other two agencies requesting increases in their 2025 budgets.