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Voters approve Mahoning County Children Services levy
YOUNGSTOWN
Voters have approved a real-estate tax levy to fund the Mahoning County Children Services Board that will generate nearly $2.8 million more per year than the two levies it combines and replaces.
The measure won by a margin of 63 percent to 37 percent, according to Mahoning County Board of Elections unofficial figures.
“We’re extremely grateful that the community recognizes that children are worth protecting,” said Randall B. Muth, agency director. “And that mandate from the public just strengthens our resolve to do whatever we can to deliver our promise, and to make sure we improve life for Mahoning County’s children and strengthen our families.”
The 1.85-mill, five-year levy will generate more than $7.3 million annually for the agency and will cost the owner of a $100,000 home $64.75 per year.
It combines and replaces a 1-mill levy first passed in 1985 and an 0.85-mill levy first passed in 1976.
The 1-mill levy currently generates more than $2.9 million a year and the 0.85-mill levy generates more than $1.5 million, totaling more than $4.5 million annually.
The cost to the owner of a $100,000 home is $22.31 per year for the 1-mill levy and $10.17 for the 0.85-mill levy.
Levy funds account for 51 percent of the agency’s operating budget, Muth said.
A replacement was necessary because property-tax levies never generate more than they did originally and are based on the property values at the time they passed, Muth said.
“We cut our spending 16 percent over the last two years, but even that wasn’t enough to close that gap,” he said. “The reality is that, at some point, we were going to have to reset our funding at today’s values. And we had hit that point.”
Children Services has decreased spending in recent years, with a drop from $14.1 million in 2011 to $13.2 million in 2012 to $11.8 million in 2013.
The reduction in spending was partly achieved by reducing staff by not replacing employees who retired or resigned, according to Muth. Those positions will not be reinstated, he said.