Children Services may have levy on fall ballot. Will it be renewal or replacement?
COSHOCTON − Officials are going to wait about six months to see where children services finances are before making a decision regarding an existing property tax levy.
Jed McCoy, executive director of Coshocton County Job and Family Services, recently met with Coshocton County commissioners to discuss a 1-mill levy for general operations that is up this year. It was first passed by voters in 1984 and is the oldest continual county levy on the books.
The officials considered whether the levy should be placed on the spring primary ballot or the fall general election and if the department should go for a renewal or a replacement. The current levy generates about $425,000 annually at 1984 levels. A replacement would collect the 1-mill at current property evaluations and bring in an estimated $800,000 to $830,000 a year.
Money collected in 2024 would be paid in 2025, meaning if the levy fails they could try again in the 2025 primary without an interruption in payment, and with Coshocton County Emergency Medical Services seeking a new levy in the primary, commissioners suggested waiting until the fall.
Commissioner Dane Shryock said the entity can't be expected to collect needed funding at 40-year-old rates forever, but a replacement might be a hard sell at this time with property evaluations and inflation going up. People overall are paying more for goods and services and on property taxes.
"You said don't ask for more than what you need, but what you need is fluid. It could change by the day," Shryock told McCoy. "I don't think you can forever keep your levy at 1984 rates, can't do it, but at what point do you try to get a replacement?"
An additional 1-mill levy failed in the 2023 spring primary and the fall 2019 general election. Voters have spoken and that's not lost on McCoy.
He's fine with re-evaluating needs at mid-year. McCoy said they are doing well now, but he's cautious about the future and one high needs charge could wipe out their coffers. He said they have custody of one youth now costing about $1,500 a day, but they're thankfully being taken care of via a state funding program.
"Honestly, now, we don't need an additional and I'm not going to go for anything we don't need," McCoy admitted. "But, I do see the benefits of seeking a replacement, because it would give us breathing room, but I hate to say it like that. Right now, we're doing OK but one kid could wreck this whole budget."
McCoy said state funding has improved. Child State Allocation Protection dollars at the state level is rising to $25 million in 2024, then to $35 million in 2025. McCoy said it's unsure how much Coshocton will get of that, but they should see an additional $100,000 to $120,000 this year.
Additionally, their foster care numbers are the lowest since February 2018. The most was a high of 83 kids in 2021. This does not include kinship placements and those in private foster homes. McCoy said a majority of cases are related to drug abuse and/or mental illness.
The foster home budget for 2023 was at approximately $1.8 million, down from a little more than $2 million in 2022. McCoy said staff turnover is also down and that allows them to be more proactive than reactive.
McCoy said he wants to assemble data and have that available to share with the public for the next levy campaign. They recently did a public survey to see what the community wants to know about JFS and children services was at the top.
"The state money and all that, I'm trying to maximize it and not have to keep going back to the voters for things. We've made some great improvement, but this week we could get hit by something else. But, I don't care what I go for, that will be the case," McCoy said on the uncertainty of foster care and what type of levy to pursue. "Right now when I say we're OK, it's literally a wash."
Leonard Hayhurst is a community content coordinator and general news reporter for the Coshocton Tribune with more than 15 years of local journalism experience and multiple awards from the Ohio Associated Press. He can be reached at 740-295-3417 or llhayhur@coshoctontribune.com. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @llhayhurst.
This article originally appeared on Coshocton Tribune: Coshocton Children Services levy will be on the ballot later this year
