Portage Co. Board of Developmental Disabilities depends on Issue 27

By Lauren Buchanan and Lauren Dargay

Results from an American Community Survey showed that, in 2013, 39,187,600 Americans were living with disabilities. In Portage County, it’s estimated that, by the end of 2015, the Board of Developmental Disabilities will have assisted nearly 1,000 disabled individuals. The Board provides services to individuals of all ages throughout Portage County. The number of programs and services provided by the Board of Developmental Disabilities could change after Election Day, depending on how Portage County citizens vote on Issue 27.

What is Issue 27?

Issue 27 is a tax levy renewal for the Portage County Board of Developmental Disabilities. The levy would generate approximately $4 million annually, which is about 20% of the Board’s revenue.

The levy is paid for by Portage County businesses and homeowners, but, because it’s a renewal levy, taxes will not increase if Issue 27 passes.  “The renewal will allow us to regenerate the levy,” Portage County Board of Developmental Disabilties superintendent Omar Nagi said.  The renewal will also help maintain the income the levy has generated for the Board.

What makes Issue 27 different?

Tax levies and renewals for the Portage County Board of Developmental Disabilities have fared well in past elections. “I think it’s seen as a pretty non-controversial issue,” Kent League of Women Voters president Iris Meltzer said.

The initial tax levy for the Board appeared on the Portage County ballot two decades ago.  “It has been approved for the last 20 years, since 1996,” Nagi said. After that initial approval, the levy was renewed in 2000, 2005 and 2010.

Issue 27 is slightly different from previous renewals for the Board of Developmental Disabilities, though. If Issue 27 passes, the term for the levy will be extended from five years to a continuing period of time, so it will not appear on the ballot again in the next election.

“We’re hoping that we can stabilize some long-term funding options for people with disabilities with this levy by turning it over to a continuous rather than a five year cycle,” Nagi said.

What if it doesn’t pass?

Tax levies for the Portage County Board of Developmental Disabilities might have a good track record, but there is always the chance that this renewal won’t pass. “Right now, if that wasn’t to pass, we would have to make immediate and dramatic cuts in services,” Nagi said.

One program that could potentially be cut is the social program at Coleman Adult Day Services in Ravenna. Coleman Adult Day Services mainly serves dementia patients, but 27 adults with disabilities attend programs provided by the organization.

“We have people here who are mildly developmentally disabled, and we have people here who have severe Down syndrome, people with spina bifida, people who are in electric wheelchairs and don’t have the use of their extremities,” Robert Steinheiser, chief officer of Coleman Adult Day Services, said.

Coleman Adult Day Services has two different programs for community members with disabilities. The first program provides participants with socialization, light exercise, and three meals a day. Most of the people in this program are senior citizens or dementia patients, but several individuals with developmental disabilities take part in it as well.

“Our other program is a social program,” Steinheiser said, “and we’ve designed it for younger developmentally disabled folks.” Participants in the social program go into the community with staff members and do different activities, such as martial arts classes, dance classes, picnics and volunteer projects. 15 individuals currently participate in the social program.

 

The Portage County Board of Developmental Disabilities provides funding for the people who take part in the social program. “They provide transportation to and from Coleman, and they provide for our daily rate,” Steinheiser said.

Participants could pay out of pocket for the social program, but most would not be able to afford to. If Issue 27 does not pass, “it would pretty much kill the program, I think,” Steinheiser said.

The program Coleman Adult Day Services provides is purely social, but it is very beneficial for participants. “It helps with their disabilities to be out in the public and doing things right along with other people,” Steinheiser said.

“The whole point is to get them out into the community,” he said. “They get exposure to the community and the community gets exposure to them.”

Participants aren’t the only people who benefit from the social program, or any of the programs funded by the Board. “There’s a benefit for the individuals with disabilities and our community at large, Nagi said.

Now we wait

Portage County citizens will have to wait until Election Day to see if Issue 27 passes. There is a great deal of optimism, though, that voters will once again approve the renewal.

“With the strong support of the community, we’re hoping that we can stabilize some long-term funding options for people with disabilities,” Nagi said.