Issue No. 20 — Summit County ADM levy
SUMMIT COUNTY — The Summit County Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services Board (ADM) is asking voters to pass Issue No. 20, a six-year, 2.95-mill replacement levy.
It would cost the owner of a $100,000 home $90.34 a year, or $7.53 a month, in property taxes. It would replace a 1.37-mill residential rate (1.87 commercial rate) levy that currently costs the owner of a $100,000 home $41.88 a year.
ADM Executive Chairman Don Davies said the board hasn’t asked voters for an increase in local funding in 12 years. According to the ADM, tax collection in 2007 is projected to be $22 million. If the levy passes, tax collection in 2009 is projected to be $38.9 million. Davies said funds would be used to maintain programming, provide more in-county treatment and fund “livable” wages for staff members. Should the levy fail, Davies said the board would have to cut out $2 million worth of programming next year.
The ADM employs about 1,500 staff members across 30 agencies. On a basic service level, it provides drug and alcohol treatment, a 24-hour suicide prevention hotline and mental health services to more than 73,000 individuals, a third of which are children and 17 percent of which are older adults.
To pay for these services, the ADM makes use of federal and state funds and local levies. Each source accounts for 33 percent of its total funding.
To read a previously published, more detailed story on the levy, visit www.akron.com and click on “West Side Leader” under “Election ’07.”
— By Mike D’Agruma
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