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Mahoning mental health board to seek levy
The board serves about 10,000 clients yearly through a network of providers.
YOUNGSTOWN — Mahoning County voters in November will decide on a .85-mill, five-year renewal levy sought by the county’s Mental Health Board.
The levy, which expires Dec. 31, 2009, generated about $3.1 million in 2007, said Ronald Marian, executive director of the agency. The levy is a renewal and would not increase taxes, he said.
The board on Thursday also approved spending up to $75,000 for television, newspaper and display ads to promote the levy.
The mental health board provides services to about 10,000 mental health clients each year through a network of 22 private providers. These providers include Burdman Group, Catholic Charities Regional Agency, D&E Counseling Center, Family Service Agency, Help Hotline Crisis Center, Mahoning County Community Support Network, Meridian Services, and Turning Point Counseling Services.
The board also helps support special projects such as Youngstown Area Goodwill Industries, Potential Development, YWCA Barbara Wick Program, ACLD Learning Center, Volunteer Services Agency, Sojourner House, FSA Rape counseling program, and the Mental Health Community Center; and support groups in the Valley.
“We need the levy to continue these programs; plus it helps us get matching funds from the state,” Marian said.
The board’s 2007 budget was about $15 million. Most of the agency’s funding is state and federal money funneled through the Ohio Department of Mental Health, and grants, Marian said.
The levy request, recommended by the board’s Ways and Means Committee, must be approved by the Mahoning County commissioners before it can be placed on the ballot.
In its levy resolution, the board requested that the county auditor certify the tax valuation of Mahoning County and the amount of money that the .85-mill levy would generate each year.
The mental health board also has a .05-mill, five-year levy that raised about $1.2 million in 2007. It expires in 2010.