MANSFIELD, Ohio — Richland County commissioners approved the second of two resolutions needed to put a 10-year, 0.9-mill health renewal levy on the November ballot during their regular meeting Tuesday.
The levy, which generates about $1.6 million annually, helps fund many of the services provided by Richland Public Health, officials said. These services include health education, communicable disease surveillance, health clinics, emergency preparedness, among others.
One service the agency provides that could be easily overlooked pertains to food service, said Kevin VanMeter, Richland Public Health finance director. “We make sure that the food that’s being served in Richland County is the best quality that we can and that the vendors are doing their job in keeping it clean and sanitary,” he said.
Because this is a renewal levy, that means “there will be no new taxes,” said VanMeter.
VanMeter explained what would happen if the levy doesn’t pass. “What would happen if this levy didn’t pass–and this by no means is set in stone–services would be cut; cost would be raised.”
He said, “There are certain core elements that we have to do to be a health department and certain things that we don’t, but a lot of the services that I think really directly affect a lot of the people are the ones that would be affected, or the cost would go up.”
He added, “I would venture a guess that the clinic services would probably suffer the most.”
Selby Dorgan, manager of health promotion and education, noted, “Public health is one of those services that is vital to any community and it’s very frequently unseen…We are constantly promoting, planning and preparing for whatever’s going to be out there next so that when it does happen, we’re ready to respond.”
