The Delaware County Board of Developmental Disabilities is seeking a 2-mill renewal levy with a 0.1-mill reduction in the Nov. 2 election.
“This levy is our primary source of revenue, generating an estimated $15 million per year to support the services DCBDD provides in Delaware County,” the agency said in a recent email to The Gazette. “The passage of this levy will provide the funding necessary to carry DCBDD through 2026, allowing for 5 years in between voting years.”
The agency provides support to Delaware County residents with development disabilities and their families. A fact sheet said its services include: “Support to live a quality and fulfilled life; Early Intervention to enhance child development; employment support to find and maintain a job; connections to community resources; and assistance with daily living needs and learning new skills.”
The DCBDD said the levy will result in a decrease in taxes and no new taxes due to reducing the 2.1-mill renewal levy and not renewing its 0.56-mill levy.
In response to why its reducing the levy, the county agency said, “DCBDD has been diligent stewards of the public funds we are provided. Through the passage of our 0.4 mill continuous levy in 2018 and the leverage of state and federal dollars, DCBDD is able to deliver the same high level of services and reduce the levy. We believe we should never ask for more than we need, and we are confident that a 2.0 mill renewal levy will allow us to effectively meet the needs of the people we support.”
No services are being cut, the agency said.
“DCBDD leverages local, state, and federal waiver matches to amplify the services offered. Leveraging these dollars allows DCBDD to deliver more services with less local funding,” the agency said.
According to its website, if the levy were to fail, “DCBDD will have one more opportunity in the spring of 2022 to put the levy before voters. This is our largest revenue source; failure to pass the levy will require services to be altered.”
The State of Ohio’s county system of serving people with developmental disabilities started in 1960, according to the Ohio Association of County Boards’ “Always There” history timeline. Governors James Rhodes and John Kasich each signed into law acts to support people with developmental disabilities. In 2007, demeaning terms for people with developmental disabilities were eliminated from the Ohio Revised Code. After several name changes, the Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities was so named in 2009.
On a national level, President John F. Kennedy signed the Community Mental Health Act in 1963. More than two decades later, March was designated as National Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month by President Ronald Reagan. Then in 1990, President George H.W. Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act.
“The ADA is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all areas of public life, including jobs, schools, transportation, and all public and private places that are open to the general public,” said the ADA National Network. “The purpose of the law is to make sure that people with disabilities have the same rights and opportunities as everyone else.”
The Delaware County Board of Developmental Disabilities is at 7991 Columbus Pike, Lewis Center. For more information, visit www.dcbdd.org or call 740-201-3600.
