2024 Election Roundup: Countywide levies for Health Department, Children Services unofficially fail

On its third consecutive attempt, the countywide Highland County Children Services levy — Issue 10, a proposed 0.9-mill, five-year levy renewal “providing funds for the support of children services and the care and placement of children” — unofficially failed again, as did a proposed health department levy renewal at a reduced rate.

Those on the ballot in Highland County did not find out the unofficial totals until early Wednesday morning. After releasing three different absentee reports, the Board of Elections reported technical difficulties had been going on for an hour at 11:30 p.m., with no in-person votes tallied.

The unofficial results were finally released Wednesday at 12:30 a.m. online, but as of 2:30 a.m., the board had not printed final reports for those waiting at the Hi-TEC building as the board continued counting ballots.

The county also saw high voter turnout, with an unofficial 71.3 percent of voters participating in this year’s election, on par with the 72.4-percent voter turnout in the last presidential election in 2020. That included 33.5-percent turnout via absentee voting, unofficially.

For the Highland County Children Services levy, unofficial results show the issue failing with 9,566 votes against the levy (51.7 percent) and 8,956 votes in favor of it, unofficially.

As previously reported, according to Highland County Job & Family Services Director Jeremy Ratcliff, the Children Services agency placed the five-year, 0.9-mill renewal levy on the ballot for the Nov. 5 general election as they are “on pace for $4.1 million” in placement costs this calendar year. Of that $4 million, the levy would help offset “about 17 percent of what we need,” Ratcliff said July 17.

A proposed five-year, one-mill replacement levy for the agency failed in the Nov. 7, 2023 general election. A subsequent attempt to return to the previous 0.9 millage, through a levy issue on the March 19 primary ballot, was also voted down.

As mentioned, the other countywide levy, a proposed replacement and decrease for the Health Department (Issue 9), also unofficially failed, with 57.5 percent of voters (10,554) voting against it compared to 7,814 in favor of the issue.

As a 0.7-mill, five-year levy, this was proposed as a replacement of two existing levies and decrease of 0.3 mill, as currently, the Health Department has two half-mill levies.

According to background sent by Health Commissioner Jared Warner to commissioners earlier in June, “the health department currently has two levies that support our operations each year,” with their first half-mill levy approved in 1987 and replaced in 2020, and a second one approved in 2000. With both levies due to be placed on the ballot this year, Warner said that they were looking to “join together both existing levies into a single ballot item.

According to Warner, revenues from the current tax levy, now voted down, account for “between 40 and 50 percent” of the Health Department’s budget each year, including 43.9 percent in 2023.

In other local levies and issues:

• The Village of Leesburg (Issue 2) unofficially rejected a proposal granting the village “the authority to aggregate the retail electric loads in the Village [and] enter into service agreements to facilitate for those loads the sales and purchase of electricity” for all residents except those opting out. Unofficial votes show 220 no votes and 204 yes votes, a race that may be too close to call at this time. A similar issue was passed in Hillsboro in 2023.

• Voters in the Village of Mowrystown (Issue 3) unofficially rejected a five-mill, five-year additional levy for current expenses, with 74 voters against the levy and 53 votes for it, unofficially.

• Greenfield South voters (Issue 5) have approved a local liquor option regarding Sunday sales at La Bamba/El Canon, a Mexican restaurant on Jefferson Street, unofficially. The issue received an unofficial 204 yes votes and 98 no votes.

• Clay Township voters (Issue 6)  unofficially approved/rejected a 0.5-mill, five-year levy renewal to maintain and operate township cemeteries.

• Marshall Township voters (Issue 7) unofficially approved a proposed tax levy renewal for fire expenses by a margin of 319-165. The issue was presented as a 3.9-mill, five-year levy “for the purpose of providing and maintaining fire apparatus, appliances, buildings and sites therefore, and sources of water supply and material, and the payment of permanent, part-time or volunteer firefighters or firefighting companies to operate the same.” It also includes the purchase of “ambulance equipment, and to provide ambulance, paramedic or other emergency medical services operated by a fire department or firefighting company.”

• Fairfield West voters (Issue 8) unofficially decided that the Highland 1st Stop shall be permitted to sell beer, wine and mixed beverages, passing the liquor option issue with 269 yes votes and 80 no votes, unofficially.

For another local election roundup, see the story at: https://highlandcountypress.com/news/2024-election-roundup-greenfield-v….

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