LifeLines levy to get 3rd try with voters

WARREN -- Officials hope the third time will be the charm for a 1-mill Trumbull LifeLines levy, which was turned down last November, then by a narrower margin in May.
The 1-mill, 10-year levy would raise an additional $3 million a year for the agency, until last year know as the Trumbull County Board of Alcohol, Drugs and Mental Health.
About half the money will be used for new programs; the rest to restore services cut in the last year, said Nick Ceglia, agency director.
"We foresee $1 million in state funding cuts this year," Ceglia said.
State funding cuts prompted the agency to trim $1.5 million from its $15 million budget after the levy failed for the first time in 2001.
Trumbull LifeLines does not provide services itself; rather, it contracts with about two dozen local counseling, drug addition and mental health groups.
"We took significant cuts in terms of our programs for kids in schools," Ceglia said. "We lost staff at a Community Solutions and other agencies."
Valley Counseling Services of Warren, which provides treatment for the mentally ill, is the largest single contractor with LifeLines and took the single largest hit last year. It's budget was reduced by $250,000 as a result of cuts.
Agency boosters are pursuing a grass-roots campaign for the levy this time around. Ceglia said they are hoping influential people and community leaders in various parts of the county will persuade voters to pass the measure.