Commissioners OK 1-mill Highland County Children Services replacement levy for November election

One week after meeting to discuss continued increases in Children Services cases, Highland County commissioners Terry Britton, David Daniels and Brad Roades voted Aug. 2 to approve a tax levy replacement issue for the agency to be placed on the Nov. 7 ballot.

Commissioners approved a resolution “declaring it necessary to levy a tax and requesting an estimate from the Highland County Auditor and Children Services.” With Highland County Job & Family Services Director Jeremy Ratcliff and Highland County Auditor Alex Butler submitting the necessary paperwork, commissioners then voted 3-0 to authorize the proposed tax levy “replacement with increase” for Children Services.

Also approved was a Merchants National Bank account holders letter for Highland County JFS for the agency’s levy campaign fund.

If passed, the levy will reflect a 0.1-mill increase from its existing levy, bringing it up to one mill. Since it was first approved by voters in 2013, the five-year levy has been at 0.9-mill. All revenues from the levy go toward child placement costs, according to Ratcliff.

According to the certificate submitted by Butler, the estimated annual property tax revenue at that millage rate is calculated to be $982,224. A “more realistic” total, considering an estimated 10-percent delinquency, is $883,163, the auditor said. That equates to $35 for each $100,000 of appraised value.

To supplement the discussions from the previous commission meeting (see: https://highlandcountypress.com/judge-jfs-director-talk-drastic-increas…), in which Ratcliff and Highland County Juvenile Court Judge Kevin Greer said there had been a “drastic” increase in cases over the past decade, Ratcliff presented a graph to commissioners Wednesday. The graph is pictured at the top of this article.

“The key years to really look at on that graph would be ’13 and ’18,” Ratcliff said. “That's when we passed and we renewed the levy. In ’13, we were at 253 children in substitute care at any point in time, and in ’18 we were at 297.

“Judge mentioned it last week — he alluded to the increase that he's seen in his courtroom over the last five, six years — and it kind of plays out on the graph. As you see, we've never again approached 2018 numbers. We've kind of escalated up from there.

“We've been as creative as we possibly can while still keeping our kids safe to do everything we possibly can to not bring them into foster care — utilizing kinship placements, safety plans, etc. — and so we've seen a little bit of a dip from our 2021 numbers,” Ratcliff continued. “However, even at 425, that doesn't approach 253 in 2013 or 297 in 2018, so the costs continue to rise.”

Daniels described the rise in cases as a “tragedy.”

“Obviously, we need to make some provision to care for the children that come before you,’ he’s said.

Ratcliff said that pursuing the replacement levy is a decision he has “struggled” with, but this is the “bare minimum” millage he felt comfortable pursuing.

“I think anybody that knows me would know that I'm a pretty conservative, fiscal person, and I understand a voter’s perspective,” Ratcliff said. “We’re, I think, asking for what we need.

“We’re asking for the bare minimum we need, projecting out five years, if these costs continue to stay at this rate or even escalate.”

Britton said that the circumstances were “unfortunate.”

“The real crime here is the amount of parents that are on drugs that’s causing this issue,” Britton said. “It’s unfortunate that our society is the way it is, and these kids are taking the brunt of what's going on. That's the very unfortunate part of this.”

Ratcliff agreed. “Not to be too emotional, but I've left in tears,” he said. “I’ve held these newborns in my hands and walked out in tears on my ride home. You're right. The kids are taking the brunt of that.”

Ratcliff, who said that he would be filing the paperwork with the Highland County Board of Elections Wednesday to place the issue on the ballot, thanked commissioners for their “consideration” of the levy request.

“I appreciate your support,” he said. “As Judge mentioned, you guys have always been in our corner and understand the importance of what we do.

“We have tried, really hard, for the last two years to build a professional Children Services team that represents our community as well and our community's expectations of keeping kids safe. I hope folks have seen that and will help support these kids during a pretty trying time in their life.”

In other discussion:

• At the start of the meeting, Britton shared condolences to the family of longtime community leader Robert “Bob” Hodson, who passed away Saturday at the age of 95.

“He was a super guy who did a lot for Highland County over the years,” Britton said. “He will be missed tremendously. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family.”

• Highland County Treasurer Vickie Warnock conducted the quarterly investment advisory committee meeting, with the county accruing almost $600,000 in interest from various investments during the second quarter of 2023.

Totals presented by Warnock included:

• STAR Ohio: $81,557.39 interest, $6,384,422.32 balance (as of the end of June) and 5.26-percent interest rate;

• STAR Plus: $29,705.67 interest, $3,272,823.13 balance and 3.73-percent interest rate;

• Fifth Third (CDs): $48,898.39 interest, $10,272,723.41 balance and 1.85-percent average interest rate;

• Checking account: $116,246.32 interest, $10,000,506.85 current balance and 4.94-percent interest rate; and

• ICS account: $314,012.64 interest, $30,213,457.91 current balance and 5.27-percent interest rate.

“So for the quarter, our overall interest was $590,420.41, which is $77,914.51 more than the previous quarter,” Warnock told commissioners.

Daniels asked if she saw a “need to move any money” at this time.

“Not right now, and honestly, the reason we have so much in the ICS account right now is because we just finished up second-half [taxes],” Warnock said. “We have not got that distributed yet. We are still getting on-time payments, so we've got to get that finished up first.

“We're doing pretty good right now on the interest rates.”

Commissioners thanked Warnock for the update.

• Also during the meeting, Daniels noted that Kenneth Davis of Leesburg is slated for induction into the Ohio Agricultural Hall of Fame Friday, Aug. 4.

According to a press release from the Ohio Agricultural Council, Davis “has provided decades of service with an unwavering dedication for rural life and agriculture, especially for farmers. He has dedicated time serving in many organizations that prioritize the interests of agriculture.”

“It is a big deal,” Daniels said. “Congratulations to Ken and his family.”

Britton added that they were “going to try to make the trip” to the Ohio State Fair Friday to attend the ceremony.

Along with the aforementioned JFS levy motions, commissioners also approved the following, each by a 3-0 vote:

• A resolution for a request from Probation for the renaming of fund 2625 to TCAP FY 24/25. The estimated revenue for the first half of fiscal year 2024 for this fund is $73,731.50.

• A memorandum of understanding between the commissioners and the Highland County Land Reutilization Corporation for the newly hired land bank coordinator, Jason Johansen.

• An amendment to the operating agreement between commissioners and Aramark Correctional Services LLC to reflect an increase in food service costs for inmates at the Highland County Justice Center.

• A general partnership agreement with the Village of Leesburg for the county’s economic development department.

• A Section 125 premium-only plan for Aug. 1, 2023 to July 31, 2024 for some employee benefits.