The Butler County Board of Developmental Disabilities will eliminate 31 positions — nearly a quarter of its staff — this summer. The move is part of Board's plan to deal with a projected $13.3 million spending deficit for 2026.
The Board declared a fiscal emergency in Sept. 2025.
In a release, the agency says its Board approved the layoffs April 14. It also will transfer operations of its building over to the Butler County Board of Commissioners. While the agency will continue to occupy part of the building on Fair Avenue, commissioners will decide what will be done with the rest of the space.
Agency Superintendent Lee Ann Emmons says the layoffs and building transfer add up to about $4.5 million in savings. When added to other cost-cutting measures already in place — wage and hiring freezes, pay cuts and reduced services — the total savings are $8.4 million.
“We had explored emergency support options at the state and county level but those did not come to fruition,” Emmons says in the release.
The cost-cutting measures also will include restructuring and the closing of some departments.
"The operations of the eligibility and investigative agent team [adult protective services for people with developmental disabilities] will shift to the Southwestern Ohio Council of Governments. These services are state-mandated and will be overseen by the county board but will not be directly provided through the county board," the statement says.
What about the levy on May's ballot?
The Board of Developmental Disabilities is asking Butler County voters to approve a 2 mill continuing levy in May. However, Emmons says the the layoffs and building transition will go ahead even if the levy passes.
"The levy will provide critical funding so that our supports can continue for over 4,300 Butler County residents. Unfortunately, even if the levy passes, these drastic cost saving measures are still necessary. This, combined with the passage of our levy, extends the stability of our finances and services," she says.
The Board of Developmental Disabilities supports more than 4,000 Butler County residents, including more than half who are infants, young children or school-age children, by providing or connecting them with services to help them live and work in their communities.
Its existing levies — passed in 2000 and 2004 — don't increase as home values increase, and generate the same amount of funding as they did at the time they were passed. Meanwhile, the agency notes demand for the services it is federally required to provide through Medicaid funded waviers has increased 380% since 2004.
The Board also lost about $7.2 million during the COVID-19 pandemic when county leaders requested agencies make cuts to provide taxpayers with rollbacks in 2020 and 2021.
Emmons laments the loss of dedicated staff and says the agency remains committed to providing an excellent standard of care.
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