Of all the issues on the Nov. 2 ballot, Issue 1, the renewal levy for Hamilton County Children's Services, is the one voters should be most enthusiastic about supporting and for all the right reasons.
Protecting our county's most vulnerable population – kids – and keeping families together should be one of our highest priorities. That's why The Enquirer heartily endorses passage of this five-year renewal levy.
Because state law does not allow for the consolidation of two separate existing levies, the only option for Hamilton County Job and Family Services was to let one of its levies expire, while increasing the other. Aside from creating some rather muddled ballot language, this technicality has also confused some voters about whether Issue 1 will actually raise their taxes.
It won't. The owner of a $100,000 home will still pay the same $109 annually if this renewal passes.
So let's not get hung up on the way the measure is worded on the ballot or this perplexing state law (which should probably be changed by Ohio lawmakers immediately after this election). The protective and preventative services the county is required to provide are too vital, and we must, at the very least, maintain the current level of funding.
The five-year levy would generate about $80 million a year that would go to the operations of Hamilton County Job and Family Services. As the levy accounts for more than half of the revenue for children's services, the foster care system and social services for children in need would be decimated if the levy fails.
It could also hit hard other areas of county government. Hamilton County is mandated by the state and federal government to provide foster care, investigations into cases of child abuse and neglect and other services. If the levy fails, would have to find another source for the $80 million.
But it shouldn't come to that, and no one should want to go back to the days of reading news headlines about horrifying cases of child abuse and neglect in the county. Voters approved a tax increase for children's services in 2018 at a critical time when the agency was dealing with a shortage of caseworkers and an increase in the number of children entering the system. Hamilton County Job and Family Services used those dollars wisely and were even able to reduce the average ongoing caseload per social worker.
But the agency is still receiving a high number of calls related to child welfare. Now voters have a chance to answer the call by voting YES on Issue 1.
Opinion Editor Kevin S. Aldridge writes this on behalf of the editorial board which includes, Executive Editor Beryl Love and Editorial Board members Christine Marallen and Gil Spencer.
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