Ashland County Health District seeks tax levy increase

ASHLAND – Ashland County General Health District is asking voters to approve a replacement and additional tax levy that health commissioner Sarah Goodwill Humphrey says will help keep health services local.

At issue on the Nov. 6 ballot is a replacement of an existing 0.3 mill property tax levy, plus additional 0.15 mills, for a total of 0.45 mills. The tax is paid only by property owners who live outside the city of Ashland, so city residents will not vote on the issue.

Humphrey said the existing 0.3 mill levy brings in about $188,000, or one third of the health district’s $630,000 operating budget.

The levy, if passed, would approximately double the amount of property taxes county residents living outside the city pay for health department services.

A county resident living outside the city in a home valued at $100,000 now pays $8.60 annually for the existing levy. If the issue passes, that same taxpayer would pay $15.75 annually.

Humphrey said one reason the increase is needed is a significant decrease in state funding since 2008. The state continues to push health departments to consolidate and share services, she said.

Meanwhile, the state has mandated that all health departments in Ohio apply for a state accreditation in order to continue to receive state funding. Ashland County’s health department has been preparing for accreditation for a few years. 

The city recently began contracting with the county for health services rather than continuing operation of two parallel health districts. Part of the reason for the change was to streamline the accreditation process and lessen the overall cost,

Though Ashland County and City residents will benefit from having an accredited health department that meets national standards for health services, Humphrey said, the accreditation process costs each county approximately $80,000 to $100,000. That’s because in addition to a $14,000 in initial fees and $5,600 in annual fees, the process of preparing for and maintaining accreditation takes health department employees away from their everyday fieldwork. 

If Ashland County’s health department does not apply for accreditation by 2019 and reach full accreditation by 2021, the failure to comply would jeopardize $75,000 the department receives in grants and state subsidies, Humphrey said. 

“With the proposed tax levy of a .3 mill replacement and .15 mill addition, it is the goal of the ACHD to attain accreditation and to retain local delivery and control of public health services to Ashland County,” Humphrey said. “Keeping services local is important as only Ashland County knows our own needs and how to properly address those needs to protect health.

“When we lose representation in those matters, health suffers for small, rural communities as attention becomes more focused on larger communities, with more finances and resources. The Ashland County Health Department and Board of Health are determined to not letting this happen to our community.”