Montgomery, Blue Ash and Sycamore Township homeowners would pay about $121 per $100,000 of home value each year under Issue 10, a Hamilton County children's services levy on the November ballot.

That is up from roughly $81 under the current levy, a 38% increase. The four-year levy would renew the existing 4.5-mill children's services tax and add 1.1 mills, bringing the total to 5.61 mills. It would generate about $117 million per year starting in 2027, according to WLWT.

The money funds Hamilton County Job and Family Services (JFS) programs, including child abuse and neglect investigations, foster care, family reunification and adoption support. More than 13,000 children received levy-funded services last year, according to WCPO.

The current levy, approved by voters in 2021, generates about $81 million annually and expires at the end of 2026.

Why the increase

A county Tax Levy Review Committee determined JFS needs $144 million a year to continue providing mandated services, WVXU reported. The agency has already cut $36 million from its budget. Ohio contributes just 18% of child welfare funding, second lowest among states, compared with a national average of 42%, according to the committee's report.

The committee initially recommended a 6.57-mill levy that would have cost homeowners $157 per $100,000. Commissioners chose the lower 5.61-mill option instead.

"We went back to the administration and said, 'Can we go lower? Can we find funding somewhere else?' We cut it in half," Commissioner Denise Driehaus said at the Aug. 3 commission meeting where the levy was placed on the ballot.

Driehaus and Commission President Stephanie Summerow Dumas voted to approve the ballot measure. Commissioner Alicia Reece abstained. Reece had proposed an alternative 4.78-mill levy subsidized by stadium sales tax revenues, but county attorneys said that arrangement would violate state law.

What happens if it fails

If voters reject Issue 10, the county would lose all levy funding for children's services. County Administrator Jeff Aluotto said at a July 14 commission meeting that about 75% of the general fund supports public safety and judicial operations. Covering JFS costs from that fund would force cuts across county government.

The Cincinnati Regional Chamber has endorsed the levy.

Hamilton County residents can check their registration and find polling locations through the county Board of Elections.