Anderson Township homeowners will pay about $39 more per year for every $100,000 of home value for children's services if Hamilton County voters approve a new levy in November.

The Hamilton County Board of Commissioners voted Monday, August 3, to place a four-year, 5.61-mill Children's Services levy on the November 3 ballot. The measure would generate approximately $117 million per year for Hamilton County Job and Family Services and cost homeowners about $121 per $100,000 of assessed value, WVXU reported.

The current levy, which expires this year, costs about $82 per $100,000.

Commission President Stephanie Summerow Dumas and Commissioner Denise Driehaus voted to approve the levy amount. Commission Vice President Alicia Reece abstained.

The Tax Levy Review Committee had recommended a higher 6.57-mill levy that would have cost $157 per $100,000 and generated $144 million annually, the amount JFS says it needs to cover all mandated services. Commissioners said that figure was too steep to win voter approval.

"We went back to the administration and said, 'Can we go lower? Can we find funding somewhere else?' We cut it in half," Driehaus said at a news conference after the vote. "So, we have done our work to try to put something in front of the voters that's as low as we can go, and yet [will] provide stability for kids in this community."

Summerow Dumas said the four-year term, shorter than the county's typical five-year levy cycle, gives commissioners flexibility to readjust funding sooner if needed.

Reece's alternative ruled out

Reece had proposed a 4.78-mill levy costing about $91 per $100,000 of home value, subsidized by revenues from the county's stadium sales tax. County attorneys and bond counsel determined that diverting stadium sales tax funds to children's services would violate state law. Reece disagreed, citing other legal opinions, but her proposal found no support from the other two commissioners.

What failure would mean

If the levy fails in November, there would be zero taxpayer support for children's services. The county would not revert to the current levy level because it expires this year.

JFS has already cut $36 million from its budget to address a shortfall driven by rising caseloads and increased costs of care. Ohio contributes only 18% of child welfare funding on average, ranking second-lowest nationally; the average state contribution is 42%, according to the Tax Levy Review Committee.

As we reported July 30, five public hearings were held before Monday's vote. The deadline to certify a levy for the November ballot was 4 p.m. Wednesday, August 5.

Anderson Township, Mariemont, and Terrace Park voters will see the levy on their November 3 ballots.