Voters approved the renewal of a 0.7-mill tax levy for the Delaware Public Health District by a margin of more than 60%.
Traci Whittaker, public information officer for the health district, said last month the funds from the levy are used to cover expenses for services like newborn home visits, car seat safety checks, drug overdose prevention efforts, public health nuisance investigations, mosquito control, communicable disease monitoring, and “active participation in various coalitions and partnerships that make Delaware County the healthiest county in the state.”
According to unofficial results from the Delaware County Board of Elections, the levy passed with 51,513 (62.38%) of votes for the levy and 31,064 (37.62%) against the levy. The levy costs $17 a year per $100,000 of assessed home value. The district reported it has operated with the levy at 0.7 mills since 1984.
“We’re very thankful to our voters,” Health Commissioner Garrett Guillozet said Wednesday morning. “The passage of the health levy is a significant milestone for our agency. It represents the commitment to public health in Delaware County and will continue to provide vital funding for the next 10 years. The passage of this levy is a testament that our community appreciates the work we do and that should be recognized and appreciated.”
Whittaker said last month there are several services the levy helps fund, such as immunizations for infants, protecting residents from communicable, vector-borne and food-borne diseases, and operating community health clinics. Additionally, the levy helps fund local health assessments and data collection that supports mental health and addiction services, as well as services for vulnerable populations.
Guillozet said last month that DPHD “has been and will continue to be an excellent steward of public resources.”
“We do not take the levy for granted, and we know that the public expects and deserves transparency and accountability for their financial resources they provide through the levy,” Guillozet said in October.
Whittaker emphasized last month that levy dollars can’t be and were not used to fund the building of the district’s new facility at 470 S. Sandusky St. in Delaware.
“Levy dollars can only be used for operational and program expenses, therefore the Board of Health saved and allocated funds from program fees and permits since 2000 to be used to construct the new facility,” Whittaker said.
Collection for the levy will begin next year.
Glenn Battishill can be reached at 740-413-0903.
