Since 2004, the Council on Aging has seen a 38 percent increase in the number of clients served, and Council on Aging Director Ginger Quarles anticipates an even steeper increase in the demand for services in the coming years, as the baby-boomer population ages. According to census data, the COA estimates that the number of town residents aged 60 and older will increase from 1,054 in 2007 to 1,583 in 2012, a 50-percent jump.
Therefore, the COA is asking for a full-time director next year, an increase of 10 hours a week, at a base salary of $47,882, up from $35,911 this year. At the Dec. 18 Board of Selectmen meeting, Quarles and COA board members Sharon Briggs and Jan Goodell presented the case for the increase in hours. Currently, Quarles is contracted for 30 hours per week.
This change comes at the recommendation of the Council on Aging’s board, based on data showing Quarles’ increased time commitments since her arrival four years ago. A document prepared for the Board of Selectmen indicated that Quarles currently spends almost 50 percent of her time engaged in direct service and outreach, with the remainder focused on meetings, programs, and administrative duties.
Quarles emphasized the necessity of increasing the director’s hours, saying, “We’re barely keeping up with the caseload that we have…It’s a lot of hours and a lot of calls to make sure that we keep people safe.”
With a few exceptions, other department heads at the meeting reported “level funding” for the coming year’s budgets, with the majority of increases attributed to pay raises as a result of recent contract negotiations.
