COLUMBUS, Ohio ( WCMH ) — Voters are being asked to renew Franklin County Children Services’ existing levy, which includes a slight property tax increase.
After incidents like the death of Darnell Taylor, who was in the agency’s care before the 5-year-old was killed by his legal custodian Pammy Maye, the agency’s spokesperson, Scott Varner, said it did impact the decision to ask for a tax increase.
“Any time that there is a child death, especially a child that is somehow in our care and protection, our team takes that pretty seriously emotionally impacted by it,” Varner said. “So, with the levy, one of the new initiatives that we would invest in is putting about $1,000,000 more each year back into our neighborhoods, back into community-based prevention providers.”
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The renewal is more than a third of the agency’s total funding. The levy would also have an increase of $1.75 per month for every $100,000 of a home’s value.