LISBON Columbiana Co. MRDD seeks levy renewal

LISBON -- Voters are being asked to renew and make permanent a 1-mill maintenance and operations levy for the Columbiana County Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities agency.
The five-year levy, which raises about $660,000 annually, has been on the books since 1979.
The owner of a home valued at $100,000 pays about $14 annually for the levy, which helps run the MRDD.
The agency has a school, sheltered workshops and activity center for people with mental and/or physical disabilities.
The MRDD's annual operating budget is about $5.6 million.
Collections on the levy cease at the end of this year.
Should the levy fail, the MRDD would not be able to seek renewal of it again in 2004, said Gerald Baker, the agency's program superintendent.
Instead, the agency would have to seek passage of a new levy, Baker explained.