Delaware County voters have approved a 1.8-mill levy for the Delaware County Board of Developmental Disabilities, a second-chance win on Nov. 3 after a larger request was narrowly rejected in the spring primary. According to final, unofficial totals from the Delaware County Board of Elections reported by Delaware Source, the levy received 65,762 votes, or 57.57 percent, while 48,477 voters, or 42.43 percent, voted against it. The board can now continue its current programs at the same staffing level.
The five-year levy joins the board’s existing 0.4-mill continuous levy in funding operations, first due in 2027. Delaware County Auditor George Kaitsa estimated it will generate about $25.4 million a year, at a cost of $63 for each $100,000 of the county auditor’s market value, Delaware Source reported — $315 a year for a $500,000 home.
Superintendent Kristine Hodge thanked voters in an email to Delaware Source, writing that passage means stability for essential services that individuals with developmental disabilities and their families rely on every day. She added, in that email to Delaware Source, that the county values inclusion, dignity and opportunity for all residents, and that the board will be responsible stewards of public dollars.
The vote followed a difficult spring. A 2.7-mill renewal and increase levy was narrowly rejected in the primary, with 50.72 percent voting against it, Delaware Source reported. The board’s earlier 2.0-mill levy expired at the end of 2025, with collections ending Dec. 31, 2026. Hodge said the new levy is classified as additional because, with newly assessed values, it will collect $28.25 more than the previous levy for every $100,000 of valuation, despite its lower millage.
The money supports core services for more than 2,400 children and adults with developmental disabilities and their families across Delaware County, according to the board’s website as cited by Delaware Source. The Columbus Dispatch also reported that more than two-thirds of those served are of school age or younger. Services include early intervention for children under 3, family support such as therapy and assistive technology, and help with daily living, new skills and jobs.
Levy revenue also provides the local share required before the board can access matching federal Medicaid dollars, its largest budget driver. Hodge has said that match rose from about $4 million a year in 2015 to between $16 million and $17 million now, driven by county growth and higher state waiver rates. She has cautioned the levy will sustain services, not add new ones, and that since May the board moved people off its waiting list only on an emergency basis.
For families waiting for help, passage avoids the deeper cuts Hodge had warned could follow another failure, including suspended new Medicaid enrollment. What happens next is certification: the unofficial totals must still be certified by the Delaware County Board of Elections, and the levy will first be collected in 2027. Until then, the board will keep operating current programs with restored funding planned for the next five years.
Photo: Christopher L. Riley, CC BY-SA