Hamilton County's Children's Services levy expires at the end of this year, and commissioners are split on getting it renewed. The question isn't whether it should be or not, or raised, but when it should be on the ballot.
Board President Stephanie Summerow Dumas favors an issue on the November ballot. She wants more time to present the case to voters.
“I don’t think that we have done our due diligence to educate the public about this levy,” Summerow-Dumas says. “They’re already struggling, as we all know. We are all struggling to get food and pay our bills and all of that. And then we introduce a levy.”
Commissioner Denise Driehaus says voters should be given the option to renew or even raise it in May. She says there could be other tax issues from Cincinnati Public Schools and the city of Cincinnati later this year.
“We’ve got a (state) ballot initiative that might be on the November ballot to get rid of all property taxes. This levy is entirely funded by property taxes,” Driehaus says. “That’s a challenge. That is a political challenge that we will face in November.”
Driehaus says the sooner they know what resources they have to address future costs, the better.
Commissioner Alicia Reece says the last primary in the county drew only 22% of registered voters. She says in 2022, turnout was 8%.
“I just wanted to make sure that no matter what we do, we don’t look like we snuck it in,” Reece says. “Everybody knows what it is, everybody was aware. They don’t come out in primaries.”
The deadline to get it on the May ballot is Tuesday.
Commissioners did approve spending cuts and transfers for Child Protective Services. The $35 million in changes are meant to head off a deficit in the levy fund. County Administrator Jeff Aluotto says it's critical to keep the fund solvent.
“These are mandated, for the most part, mandated services; they’re mandated by state and federal law,” Aluotto says. “To the degree that the levy is negative, those cost ultimately are at risk of being assumed by the general fund. And the magnitude of those costs could have significant implications on the financial stability for the county’s general fund.”
County officials have said the shortfall was created by an increasing number of kids in the system, and increased costs of care.
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