Issue No. 21 — Summit County Children Services
levy
SUMMIT COUNTY — The Summit County Children Services Board (SCCS) is asking voters to pass Issue No. 21, a six-year, 2.25-mill replacement levy.
It would cost the owner of a $100,000 home $68.91 a year, or $5.74 a month, in taxes. It would replace a 1.89-mill residential rate and 2.13 commercial rate levy (2007 rates) that now costs the owner of a $100,000 home $57.85 a year.
If passed, the new levy would take effect in January and be a replacement with a reduction of 2.56 mills to the 2.25 appearing on the ballot. According to John Saros, executive director of SCCS, approximately 54 percent of SCCS funding is represented by this levy. It would generate $174 million in revenue, or $29 million a year, during its life. According to the agency, this will be the first time in nine years SCCS has asked taxpayers to approve an increase in levy funding. Saros said the funding would be used for operating expenses.
The mission and legal mandate of SCCS is to serve as the first responder to reported allegations of child abuse and neglect, to investigate such reports in a timely manner and to provide appropriate protective services to children found to be abused and/or neglected. Its primary goal is to protect children from harm by helping parents manage their problems in ways other than abusing or neglecting their children.
Should the levy fail, it would expire at the end of the year and the SCCS would be forced to dip into what Saros calls an emergency fund to maintain operations through most of 2008.
In addition, the passage of Ohio House Bill No. 66, which will gradually phase out the tax on tangible personal property on businesses and some public utilities, will cost the SCCS $8 million in state reimbursement for the next 12 years. Therefore, if the current levy fails, the SCCS would have to return to the ballot in 2008 with a higher levy, as new levies don’t qualify for reimbursement. According to information from the SCCS, a new levy could approximate 2.89 mills and cost the owner of a $100,000 home $90 a year.
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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