Money For Veterans: Increasing County Funding

According to Jacob Smith, director of Lorain County's Veterans Service Commission, who collaborated with county commissioner David Moore and the bill's sponsor state Sen. Nathan Manning of North Ridgeville, R-13th, to get it before the Legislature, the bill's straightforward rule amendment enables county officials to meet the need more quickly rather than forcing them to submit proposed expenses for financial approval.

According to Manning, who is quoted in a news release, "Our veterans have given great service to our country, and we want to make sure they are taken care of with basic requirements later in life." The Veteran Service Commissions and other county veteran service agencies will be helped by this law to achieve that objective in a timely and reasonable manner.

For things like housing issues, similar emergency help is already offered to county children services organizations, but "veterans didn't have it," according to Moore.

"They occasionally have folks who are employed but are merely residing in their vans. They don't earn enough to stay competitive, according to Moore.

Smith used the example of a veteran who was about to start a new job the following day but who needed a uniform or a certain pair of work boots but couldn't afford them right away. Charges on credit cards could also be used to pay for things like temporary accommodation or training for a new job.

Smith told senators that the Lorain commission recently had to rely on donations from an outside group to put one homeless veteran up in a motel during his testimony in support of the bill before a Senate committee in March.

The man was a full-time employee of a county company on the second shift. His wife had just passed away after a protracted illness. Soon later, his house went into foreclosure, making it impossible for him to stay with his family. Smith stated that although he located an apartment, it wouldn't become available for another month.

"At about midnight after working an eight-hour shift, the veteran was forced to load his possessions into his car and become homeless. The overnight low was about 30 degrees. He spent the night in the parking lot of his employer, occasionally running the engine to remain warm," the witness stated in court.

Commissioners determine the credit limits for county-owned cards, which are normally between $2,500 and $5,000, according to Moore. The additional costs will still be covered by veterans aid funds that have already been given to veterans service commissions through internal millage. According to Smith, that amounted to nearly $4.4 million in Lorain County in 2022.

But according to Smith, a sizable portion of that money is annually returned to the county's general fund. According to him, the rule change also boosts efficiency because, on average, $1.5 million of the commission's $4.4 million in tax income and $3.8 million operational budget has been returned each year between 2012 and 2021.

Moore added, "If they're not spending it, we're not caring for our soldiers." "Veterans frequently believe that someone else is in need of the money more than they are. Jacob has a really tough time figuring out who needs help.