CLEVELAND — Voters in Cuyahoga, Summit, and Lorain counties were not only tasked with choosing candidates for political office in this year's primary election, but also faced decisions on key issues.
In Cuyahoga County, voters approved Issue 33 by a wide margin of 70%-30%. It is a replacement Health and Human Services property tax levy of 4.7 mills, and property owners in the county will now pay an additional $41 a year for every $100,000 in property value—a little less than $3.50 per month.
In January, Issue 33’s leaders attributed the need for additional health and human services funding to four primary factors (Note, this was before the COVID-19 pandemic broke out):
Protracted Poverty: Cleveland is now the second-poorest major city in the country, and one out of five Cuyahoga County residents live in poverty, which for a family of three is an annual income of $21,330 or less. And unlike much of the U.S., poverty in Cuyahoga County has increased since the Great Recession.
The Opioid Epidemic: The rate of opioid-induced deaths in the county is 2.5 times the national average; in the City of Cleveland, it is five times the national average. Since 2016, opioid addiction among parents has caused the number of children in Cuyahoga County who are in foster care or under protective supervision to grow by nearly 70%—nearly 1,500 additional children.
Demographic Challenges and Needs: Cuyahoga County is now home to more residents who are over 60 than are under 20. Several age groups of county residents—including infants, working-age adults and older adults 65-74—have mortality rates higher than the state average. In 2017, neonatal infant mortality for all children born in Cuyahoga County was worse than it was in many impoverished countries.
Insufficient Federal and State Support: Successive federal and state administrations have reduced their contributions to the Health and Human Services safety net. Ohio’s funding for children’s services remains the lowest in the nation, even as the number of children in government custody has skyrocketed.
In Summit County, voters cast their ballots on Issue 11 – a tax levy which provides 90% of the Summit Metroparks' funding. It passed by a 73%-27% margin, renewing existing funding and adds .54 mills, or $1.58 per month per $100,000 property value.
Meanwhile in Lorain County, voters were asked to renew the operating levy for Lorain County Community College (LCCC) with Issue 17. That measure also passed, 60%-40%, renewing the existing 1.8 mills operating levy and add 0.5 mills for a ten-year term (not permanent), equating to an additional investment of $1.46 per month per $100,000 in property value.
CLICK HERE for election results. (We will have them available throughout the night at WKYC.com and the 3News app.)