WASHINGTON CO. VETERANS SERVICE OFFICER DISPUTES DATA SHOWING VETERAN POPULATION DECLINE
The estimated number of veterans in Washington County appears to have decreased for the second year in a row, but Washington County’s Veterans Service Officer disagrees with that data.
Service Officer Eric Posern shares
his department's 2023 annual
report with county
commissioners on Tuesday.
Eric Posern presented his department’s 2023 report for Veterans Affairs (VA) to county commissioners on Tuesday. The report, using population totals calculated by a federal VA model, listed the estimated number of veterans in Washington County at 1,894 in 2023, compared to 1,909 in 2022 and 2,136 in 2021.
Posern believes the county’s number of veterans is higher than the VA model indicates, and that the number of 1,894 is the bottom of a range that goes up to 2,500.
Posern told commissioners that the VA’s model starts from the 2020 Census, using a set of criteria to adjust population numbers as time goes along. However, he feels the VA did not project changes in migration across the country post-COVID, including the shift from cities to more rural areas.
Commissioner Kirk Hanath said the gap between 1,894 and 2,500 is “pretty significant of a range.” Posern replied that he does not like that the range is large and would prefer to have it closer, but the figure of 2,500 is the highest he has seen, and he does not feel the number of 1,894 is reliable.
Posern did not voice concerns about any other portion of the report, which also tallied the amount that local veterans received in federal VA assistance. That increased from $21.48 million in 2022 to $24.68 million last year. Of that total was $14.47 million in compensation and pension, $9.13 million in medical care, $933,000 in education and vocational rehabilitation, and $135,000 in insurance and indemnities.
The county had 582 unique patients who were treated at a VA healthcare facility in 2023, nearly identical to the 583 reported in 2022.
does he realize that our veterans are passing away yes you might gain some by people moving into the area but there have been several who have passed away this year alone.