Geauga County Job & Family Services looks to pass 0.5-mill renewal levy

On March 17 Geauga County voters will decide whether to renew a 0.5mill child services levy for the Department of Job & Family Services.

According to the Geauga County Auditor’s Office, if passed the levy would not increase taxes for owners, bringing in an annual yield of $1,575,395 in 2021 and costing property owners $17.08 per $100,000 of tax evaluation per year.

Jobs & Family Services Director Craig Swenson said funds from the levy would maintain its staff and the costs associated with the children that they serve.

“A significant portion of the levy goes towards the cost of the placements of children that are out of home placement,” Swenson said.

He said if the levy does not pass, the department may not have enough revenue to meet operating expenses.

“We’re really probably going to be operating back in the red because our expenses will exceed our revenues,” Swenson said.

According to the Geauga County Elections Board, the March 17 levy will fund the department five years if approved.

“Being a steward of taxpayer dollars, if we’re asking for supporting tax, I’d rather keep it in the fiveyear range in case we need to lower a levy or if we need to do a slight increase, depending on the need,” Swenson said.

He said taxpayer funds have not only helped them support children’s immediate needs, but to act preventatively as well.

“It’s really just trying to find ways to keep children in their home or not in the court and we think it’s important that we are able to do that and not just be reactive to the county’s needs,” Swenson said.

Swenson said the Department of Job & Family Services will appear back on the ballot again this fall for another levy renewal.

“We have two levies coming up back to back this year,” Swenson said. “They are both renewal levies and the reason they run back to back is because four years ago we had to do an additional levy because we were going to be insolvent from all the issues that related to the opioid crisis and all the children we had in our custody.”

In November 2015, Geauga voters passed a five-year, 0.5-mill additional levy 17,257 to 13,790 in support of child services through the Geauga County Department of Job & Family Services.