Hamilton County residents may vote on a potential increase to the children’s services levy this year.
Hamilton County Administrator Jeff Aluotto called the levy “the frontline defense” for children at risk of abuse and neglect. It funds the abuse and neglect hotline, foster care, family preservation and reunification and independent living, among other services.
What does the children’s services levy generate now?
Voters last approved the levy in 2021 at a rate of 4.51 mills and it currently costs taxpayers $81.15 per $100,000 home, Webb said. It was last increased in 2018.
Those taxes generate about $81 million per year – not nearly enough anymore to care for the children in the county’s care, county officials said.
Assistant County Administrator Lisa Webb presented to the commissioners at their Jan. 20 meeting and said Jobs and Family Services is trying to balance the needs of the community with the burden on taxpayers.
Webb said to maintain the levy’s current services, it would need to generate about $123 million more per year, but staff felt that would be too onerous a burden for taxpayers.
If the county decided the levy needed to generate $65 million more, which was the minimum staff suggested, it would be a roughly 80% increase in the money the levy generates.
The county did not yet have data on what the increase would mean in terms of mills or cost per $100,000 of property value.
Why the increased costs?
Aluotto said in a statement that the number of children under the county’s care has grown “modestly” while the cost of keeping them safe has risen sharply.
“Placement costs have increased far faster than inflation, driven by children entering care with more intensive mental health, behavioral, and developmental needs. At the same time, a shortage of available foster homes has required greater reliance on higher-cost placements to ensure children receive appropriate care,” Aluttto said.
Aluotto added that these are issues faced all over Ohio, not just in Hamilton County.
Commissioners must vote on whether to place the levy on the ballot in May or November this year. Hamilton County Commission President Stephanie Summerow Dumas noted at the meeting that county residents will make the final decision.
Regional politics reporter Erin Glynn can be reached at eglynn@enquirer.com or @eringlynn on Bluesky.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Hamilton County officials say massive levy hike needed for foster care
Reporting by Erin Glynn, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
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