Three county levies go on ballot

by Hillary Copsey
Senior City Writer

Athens County residents will decide on three replacement tax levies when they visit the polls Nov. 6.

All three levies are taxes on property owned in Athens County, said Kathy Kyle, Athens County Board of Elections director.

As replacement levies, they raise taxation rates from existing levies to meet inflation, County Auditor Jill Thompson said. They are not new taxes or tax increases.

Levy 1 collects taxes for the Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services District. Kyle said the district will use the tax for the operation, renovation and maintenance of the Mental Health and Recovery Services.

Taxes would be collected at a rate of no more than one mill per each dollar of valuation beginning in 2002 and lasting for 10 years, Thompson said. Property owners would pay approximately $30 if they owned a $100,000 home.

Both of the other levies would help pay for the operation of Beacon School, 801 W. Union St., that provides educational, vocational and work programs for children and adult consumers with mental or developmental disabilities, said Anita Mondo, Beacon School director of fiscal operations and personnel.

Levy 2 is for the benefit of Athens County, which would use taxes collected for the maintenance and operation of Beacon School and the ATCO Sheltered Workshop for Persons with Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities, Kyle said.

Thompson said Levy 2 would collect taxes at a rate of no more than 1.8 mills for each dollar of valuation, meaning tax on a $40,000 house would be less than $25. The replacement tax, if approved, would begin in 2002 and continue for eight years.

Levy 3 is a continuing tax replacement that will generate money for the operation and maintenance of Beacon School, Kyle said. A continuing tax does not have a set ending date.

If approved, Levy 3 would collect taxes beginning in 2001 at a rate of no more than 1.8 mills per each dollar of valuation. Thompson said this would mean a tax of about $20 on a $40,000 home.