Voters approving Delaware-Morrow levy for mental health services - Columbus Dispatch
Voters in Delaware and Morrow counties were approved a levy for mental health services.
Now, the Delaware-Morrow Mental Health Recovery Services Board plans to continue monitoring how
that money is being spent.
The five-year, 1-mill levy passed with 57 percent of voters approving it.
The levy will generate about $7.3 million annually and cost residents $29 per $100,000 of
property valuation.
The board was criticized last year when its fund balance grew to $16 million, drawing the ire of
Delaware County Auditor George Kaitsa, who warned the board about “overcollecting" from Delaware
and Morrow counties residents.
To remedy the problem, the board drew down its balance by reducing its levy collection rate,
from 0.95 mills to 0.25 mills, effective Jan. 1 of this year.
Steve Hedge, director of the Delaware-Morrow board, said that the excess was intended to be a
cushion against the uncertainty of ongoing expansion of Medicaid funding by the state of Ohio.
The largest of the 10 agencies it funds, the Central Ohio Mental Health Center, has been in
turmoil for years, unable to pay back hundreds of thousands of dollars in back taxes to the IRS. It
responded by replacing CEO Mark Travis, who was accused of various management lapses, with an
interim director.
Hedge said he plans to review the center frequently "to make sure they deliver the services and
are being financially viable to be able to do so."
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