ASHLAND — Ashland County commissioners gave the health department the green light Thursday to pursue a five-year levy renewal.
Voters approved the 0.45 mill levy in 2019. Historically, it’s generated around $400,000 per year, said Health Commissioner Vickie Taylor.
The health department put the five-year 0.45 mill on the ballot in 2018. At that point, the levy was considered a replacement and an increase. It was attempting to replace a 0.3 mill by increasing it to 0.45 mills.
It failed, so officials placed it on the 2019 ballot — and succeeded.
This time around, there’s no increase, Taylor said.
“It’s not an increase,” Taylor said about the levy renewal. “We have decided that we could continue to manage on the funding that we have.”
If passed, it means the owner of a median priced home of $200,000 will be taxed around $35 annually (figures based on Rocket Homes housing market report).
Taylor said the health department has a yearly operating budget of around $1.2 million. The department is funded through the local levy, a contract with the city of Ashland and federal and state grants.
“So we have multiple funding sources, but if we lose any one of them it puts a huge impact on our budget,” Taylor said.
Only outside-city voters
But the levy renewal issue will only appear on ballots for voters who live outside of the city of Ashland. That’s because the city already pays an amount each year through its general fund.
City council approved the agreement in April 2018, which essentially ensures the health department provides nursing and environmental services to the residents of the city.
The initial agreement, worth $232,000 to the health department in 2018, expired January 2020. But the agreement renews automatically each year and increases by 1.5%. This year, for example, the city will pay the health department $253,679.
Taylor said the levy will help fund efforts such as the Community Health Improvement Plan, which found, in part, that Ashland County has a colorectal cancer rate that exceeds that of the state and nation.
The county’s colorectal cancer rate from 2016-2020 sits at 23.3 out of 100,000. Ohio’s rate is 14.5 and the U.S. rate is 13.3, according to the Ashland County Health Department.
The health department published a survey in early June that attempts to gather demographic information from residents and history on colorectal cancer screening.
Free tests are also available through the Ashland Christian Health Center, the health department has said.
Taylor said the health department has received roughly 250 responses and would like to accumulate around 500 before taking it down by the end of July.
What’s next?
Commissioners unanimously approved Taylor’s request to ask for a renewal levy on Thursday.
The request now heads to the Ashland County Auditor’s office, who will calculate how much the levy will generate, said Shannon Johnson, deputy director of the Ashland County Board of Elections.
Once that happens, the county commissioners will vote on another resolution to proceed. All that paperwork is due to the board of elections office by Aug. 7, Johnson said.