Talks set on MRDD levies

The MRDD board president asked to meet with the
commissioners.

By D.A. WILKINSON

VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU

LISBON — The Columbiana County commissioners said they didn’t know a county agency was well-funded when they put a tax issue before voters.

William Devon, the superintendent of the MRDD board, will meet Wednesday with the commissioners after The Vindicator reported that the MRDD board was close to accumulating one year’s budget while saying it may have to close its Robert Bycroft School for youths.

The MRDD spends about $12 million a year.

The Columbiana County Board of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities approved renewing and increasing one levy in the 2007 primary and saw a new proposed levy defeated last November.

The renewal and increase levy will bring in about $1 million more a year for MRDD. The tax will be collected this year.

The second tax issue would bring in $3.3 million a year for the board, which had $6.6 million as of Dec. 11.

The second issue, a 2.5-mill levy, was defeated in November and placed on the 2008 primary by the commissioners at Devon’s request.

Penny Traina, a county commissioner, said the size of the increase “was not told to us.”

The MRDD is a county agency and must get approval from the commissioners to put issues before voters.

The commissioners said Devon contacted them to set up the appointment.

Devon, along with Tom Snow, the chairman of the MRDD board, could not be reached Monday.

The commissioners said they expect county agencies to be run with good stewardship.

The commissioners added they would wait to hear from Devon before commenting since he initiated the meeting

The new issue could be removed from the primary by the commissioners. “We can remove an issue up until the time we print the ballots,” Commissioner Dan Bing said.