Hyde Park and Oakley homeowners will pay about $39 more per year for every $100,000 of home value if Hamilton County voters approve a children's services levy increase that commissioners placed on the November 3 ballot August 3.

Commissioners Denise Driehaus and Stephanie Summerow Dumas voted 2-0 at a special meeting to send the 38% property tax increase to voters, according to WCPO. Commissioner Alicia Reece, the board's vice president, abstained after her alternative proposal failed to gain support.

As we reported ahead of the vote, the levy funds Hamilton County Job and Family Services programs including child abuse investigations, foster care, and emergency placements for children. The current levy generates about $81 million annually and expires at the end of 2026. The replacement would bring in roughly $117 million per year.

For homeowners, the annual cost rises from $81.15 to about $121 per $100,000 of home value. For a Hyde Park home valued around $450,000, that translates to roughly $175 more per year. An Oakley home at $300,000 would see about $117 added annually.

Hamilton County JFS faces a growing funding gap. The number of children in the county's care has grown 19% over four years, with more than 2,200 children in custody as of June. Foster care placement costs have risen 90% since 2022. The agency has already cut $36 million from its budget.

"If we don't pass the levy, we go to zero (funding). So I just want to be very clear: we don't go back to where we started. We go to zero," Driehaus said at the August 3 meeting. "... The general fund would be devastated."

Reece's alternative

Reece proposed a smaller 10% levy increase paired with a portion of stadium sales tax revenue from Cincinnati Bengals games to close the funding gap, according to Fox 19. She argued it was unfair to ask homeowners to bear the full cost one year after commissioners approved a $350 million Bengals stadium deal.

County attorneys and bond counsel concluded that diverting stadium sales tax funds to children's services would violate state law, according to WVXU reporting. Reece disputed that legal opinion.

"We will not be able to fund everything on the backs of the homeowners. We've got to find a new model, a new sustainable model," Reece said.

What's behind the shortfall

Ohio ranks second-to-last nationally in state funding for children's services, contributing about 18% of costs compared to a 42% national average. Commission President Summerow Dumas noted the state's rainy day fund holds $3.94 billion while local governments absorb mandated service costs.

The Tax Levy Review Commission originally recommended a 71% increase that would have generated $144 million annually. Commissioners rejected that as too high and considered 15 proposals over several months before settling on the 38% option after five public hearings.

Summerow Dumas cited a specific example from the Friday before the vote: children's services took custody of 14 children who needed safe placement, and caseworkers found homes for all 14 by the end of the night.

What happens next

Even if voters reject the levy in November, Hamilton County is legally required to fund children's services. Commissioners warned that covering the full cost from the general fund would be financially devastating.

Driehaus said the county would continue pursuing alternative revenue sources, and incoming JFS Director Bob Anderson is expected to bring cost-reduction proposals.

Hamilton County voters will decide on the levy Tuesday, November 3.