Fairfield ADAMH seeks levy to expand services

LANCASTER — The Fairfield County board that provides addiction recovery and mentalhealth help to residents is asking voters for more funding on the Nov. 6 ballot so it can expand its services amid the opioid epidemic.

County commissioners voted Tuesday to seek a 1-mill, 10-year property tax for the county Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health board.

The board’s current annual budget is $4.2 million, which includes up to $2.5 million in local funding, as well as state and federal funding. The budget would be increased, however, if voters approve the new levy that would generate nearly $3.7 million more annually for new and expanded services.

The board currently receives its local funding from a 0.75-mill levy, which costs homeowners $20 per $100,000 of valuation annually. The new levy would cost homeowners $35 per $100,000 of valuation, for a total of $55 per $100,000 of valuation annually, according to the county auditor’s office.

The increased funding would help the board address the opioid epidemic and expand mental-health services to children, Executive Director Rhonda Myers said.

“We hope the community will support this,” she said.

Community forums the board has held this year in Lancaster and Pickerington helped develop the priorities to which the additional funding would be put, Myers said. They include opening a crisis-stabilization facility to which people in drug withdrawal or in mental-health distress could be admitted short term, while longer-term care plans are developed for their recovery, Myers said.

Plans also include more early-intervention services to help children who are showing signs of emotional or mental-health problems, including more in-home therapy, she said.

The board hires behavioral health agencies and other providers to deliver addiction recovery and mental-health services.

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