Franklin County voters will decide a renewal tax levy in November for Children Services. County Commissioners Tuesday placed the 1.9 mill levy on the fall ballot. Levy campaign chair, Doris Calloway-Moore, says the levy request is a big chunk of funding for the agency. "The 1.9 mill levy represents 25 percent of the agency's income. So we need these dollars to maintain services," Calloway Moore. If approved, the 10 year tax levy would generate nearly 46 million dollars for Children Services. It would cost $54 for each $100,000 of property valuation. That's the same as the current rate. At first, Children Services Board was considering a larger county-wide tax levy. But, Calloway-Moore says the request was lowered for a couple of reasons.
Certainly, one of them was looking at the defeat of the schools last year and looking at the zoo levy and wondering if there had been a climate change in the community regarding tax issues.
Voters overwhelmingly rejected requests from Columbus City Schools and the Columbus Zoo during the past year. Calloway-Moore says unlike those requests the proposed renewal tax levy for Children Services will not raise property taxes. The proposed levy will provide about one-fourth of the annual operating budget for Children Services. The general election is scheduled for November 4th.