7/31/14 Health District levy to appear on Nov. 4 ballot

  • By Nick Sabo
  • July 31, 2014
  • 374
                        
SUMMARY: Ten-year, .75 mill levy would raise $656,018 for health district per year Voters will decide Nov. 4 whether to increase revenues for the Holmes County Health District with a levy. The Holmes County Board of Health voted July 18 to place a .75 mill, 10 year levy on the November ballot. The board had brief discussions with Health Commissioner Dr. D.J. McFadden if a lower mill amount should be tried instead. The levy will be the first new attempt in a year by the health district. The last attempt, in the Nov. 5, 2013 election, voters turned down a similar, .75 mill, 10 year levy election 2,701 to 2,487. According to the Holmes County Auditor’s office, the new levy would generate $656,018 for the health district per year. It would cost the owner of a $100,000 home $26.26 per year in new real estate taxes. The resolution to place the levy on the ballot was approved unanimously by the board. Prior to the vote, McFadden said boardmembers asked if a lower amount would be appropriate. However, McFadden recommended the .75 mills because it represents the amount needed for the health district to meet current, and future, financial challenges. “The rationale was, if we could go lower, should we go lower,” McFadden said. “Given the resources needed, it didn’t make sense.” The health district, like most public entities that receive local government funding, has seen it budget shrink due to cuts from the state. To continue to get the state funding it is receiving, the health district will be required to meet accreditation standards set by the state. Accreditation is costly because it requires additional record keeping and submissions to the state containing proof that the standards are being met. But the levy would not go to accreditation alone, McFadden said. The levy would further give the health district up-front funds for reimbursable grants. The health district has been receiving grants that pay only after the district submits bills back to the grant agency, McFadden said. In the mean time, a month or more may go by before the health district is reimbursed, meaning that the monthly bills can go unpaid. For example, someone working under the grant would not get their paycheck until the reimbursement is made, McFadden said. The Help Me Grow program has been reduced at the state level as well, and currently only offers the minimum early intervention services for families, McFadden said. The solid waste program, which is responsible for water monitoring at the closed Holmes County landfill for the next 30 years as well as clean up of solid waste nuisances, is underfunded as well, McFadden said. McFadden said he would also like to build a fund that would allow the health district to continue to function during a government shut down. The fund could also be used to make up for funding “freezes” at the state level, McFadden said.


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