HILLSDALE — The Hillsdale County Board has decided to let voters weigh-in on a possible county-backed bond for LifeWays, after all — but the decision could complicate a tight construction timeline.
Commissioners were poised to take a final vote July 8 on whether the $15.5 million bond would proceed. A petition drive aimed at forcing the issue onto the August 2026 ballot failed to earn enough support in 45 days, but did gather over 2,000 signatures, officials said.
Commissioner Kevin Collins, who voted earlier this year with Commissioners Mark Wiley and Brent Leininger in favor of the bond, changed course, joining Commissioners Brad Benzing and Doug Ingles in allowing voters to decide.
It’s the third attempt for the bond, which failed twice in 2024 at the commissioner level.
Most opponents of the bond say they support LifeWays, but worry federal funding cuts could hurt the organization’s ability to pay back the bond, leaving the county on the hook.
“If the payments would come back to our general fund, it would be devastational to our county,” Ingles previously said.
LifeWays CEO Maribeth Leonard informed commissioners in June that LifeWays would, in fact, be cutting spending — following an announcement that funding for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services would be cut by over 25%.
“I think it’s a great concern,” Ingles said. “We’ve heard from other agencies that federal funding is being cut. It’s a county liability that’s not fiscally sound and I feel it’s wrong. It shows a lack of concern for our county and a stewardship that’s not there.”
The county-backed bond was pursued to save “a few interest points” and, ultimately, “millions of dollars” over the course of the loan, Leonard said.
The bond would be used for a new state-of-the-art development with in-patient beds for crisis intervention on Industrial Drive, after Hillsdale County ended a lease with the organization at 25 Care Drive. LifeWays has until next fall to vacate the property, making room for the 2B District Court, which the county itself is running out of time to relocate.
It wasn’t immediately clear how the decision July 8 will affect the construction timeline for LifeWays.
— Contact reporter Corey Murray at cmurray@hillsdale.net or follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @cmurrayhdn.
(This story was updated because an earlier version included an inaccuracy.)
This article originally appeared on Hillsdale Daily News: ‘Great concern’: Officials decide LifeWays bond should head to the ballot, after all.
Reporting by Corey J. Murray, Hillsdale Daily News / Hillsdale Daily News
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