The Union County Board of Developmental Disabilities is asking to go on the ballot this November.
Superintendent Kara Brown made the request to the county commissioners Wednesday, noting the ask for new money has been a topic of discussion at the board for more than a year.
The UCBDD is asking for a seven-year, 1.1-mil levy that will generate an estimated $3 million and will be the first request for a new levy in 22 years, she said.
As the county grows and the demand for services increases, Brown said it has become difficult to make do with the current dollars. While the board benefits from growth in the form of increased levy revenue, it doesn’t have inside millage, which means it doesn’t benefit from increasing property values.
“You can see where our levy revenue has increased by 41% in the last 10 years. The number of people we’ve served has grown by 87%. So we’ve been able to extend the life of our levies but we’re coming to the end of it,” Brown said.
The UCBDD has two current levies, a 2.4-mill and a 3.8-mill levy, which were both initiated in the early 2000s. Those levies generated $9 million for this year.
The current budget for expenses at the board is $14.2 million but revenues only bring totals to $11.3 million.
“Right now you can see that we are in a negative spend of about $2.8 million,” she said. “Again, because we have only outside millage, we know that’s going to happen at the end of a levy cycle. We save at the beginning to spend at the end. That’s just the way they’re built.”
Over the last 10 years, the program has seen an 87% increase in the number of people served, brining the total to nearly 1,100. The board also saw a 64% increase in preschool students but early intervention needs, care for children from birth to 3-years-old, jumped more than 300%.
“Why that’s important, our growth starts at birth so while not all of these little ones will become eligible, about 80% will, so we can see where our growth is coming from,” Brown said. “Interestingly, after studying Delaware for the last 10 years or so, we’re about 10 years behind them in terms of where our growth is coming from and the amount of growth we’re seeing.”
Brown said it’s crucial to get the levy on as soon as possible so the cash balance doesn’t run out.
“Our current cash balance is $7.2 million, which at first glance, if we’re asking for a new money levy is a little scary except that that’s two years out of negative spend and then we’re out. And we won’t have enough to get beyond our first quarter of 2027 if we don’t get new money any later than November of ’25,” she said. “The benefit of asking in November of ’24 is we can ask for less millage because of our cash balance.”
Brown told the board previously that, in addition to an increase in services, over the last 11 years, the board also lost about $1.5 million to various tax increment financing agreements. The two biggest TIFs that affect the board are Mill Valley North and Coleman’s Crossing agreements.
To counter the expenses, the board has also implemented several cost saving measures over the last the 10 years including sharing a superintendent and business manager with Hardin County, though that business manager relationship will end in July. Brown said the county has grown so much that the position will return to Union County only. Brown said she also plans to retire in two years at which point that remaining relationship with Hardin will likely end. All in all, Brown said, those decisions have saved the board more than $12 million since 2013. The commissioners are set to approve the request at the next regular session.