LUCAS COUNTY

Commissioners OK 3 levies for Nov. ballot

Services to aid elderly, children, health

7/23/2014

Lucas County commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday to put three levies on the November ballot, including two issues that would increase property taxes.

Children Services and the Area Office on Aging Northwestern Ohio are asking for voter approval of existing levies with additional millage that would add $17.50 to the tax bills for owners of property valued at $100,000.

Also, the Mental Health Recovery and Services Board is seeking renewal of a 10-year, 0.5-mill levy.

Renewal of a 1.4-mill levy and an additional 0.35-mill is calculated by the county auditor to generate about $12,700,000 a year for Children Services, about $2.9 million more than what the 1.4-mill issue generates.

The levy would run for seven years and cost the owner of a $100,000 home $55.13 a year in property taxes.

Children Services board’s levy will not expire until 2016, however the agency said it needed to go back to the voters sooner than expected and ask for additional millage because without an influx of funds it would fall into deficit spending in 2015.

The Children Services board initially approved asking for 1.9 mills in a renewal and additional mill-age but scaled back the request after the Lucas County Citizens Levy Review Committee refused to endorse it.

The Area Office on Aging is asking for a five-year renewal of its 0.45-mill levy plus an increase of 0.15 mills. It will appear on the ballot as one issue for 0.6 mills.

According to the auditor, the proposal would generate $4,333,929 annually and would cost the owner of a $100,000 home $19.03 a year.

The levy for Mental Health and Recovery Services generates $3,675,822 annually. The owner of a home that’s valued at $100,000 pays $15.31 a year in taxes on the issue.