Strong communities do not happen by accident. They are built when we choose to invest in the systems that give residents the opportunity to succeed.
That’s worth keeping in mind as voters in Delaware and Morrow Counties consider the upcoming mental health and recovery levy.
Property taxes are a real and understandable concern. With housing, food, and daily essentials costing more, asking taxpayers for additional support should never be taken lightly. But we must also ask what kind of community we want to be when one of our neighbors needs help.
Behavioral health needs are increasing. When treatment is out of reach, those needs do not simply disappear. Instead, they spill over into our emergency rooms, schools, workplaces, and court systems, where care is more expensive.
The mental health and recovery services levy helps maintain a local system of care that includes 24/7 crisis services, counseling, psychiatric care, prevention programs and recovery supports. It also fuels critical partnerships among healthcare providers, schools, courts, and law enforcement. That matters because timely care can keep a difficult situation from becoming a crisis.
For the average Delaware County homeowner, the levy costs about $18.54 a month, which is an increase of roughly $6.30 a month over the current rate. That is a real cost, and it deserves thoughtful consideration, but so does the heavy cost of allowing our local behavioral health system to weaken.
Sincerely,
Chris Baker
Orange Township Resident
