Ross County Health District Director Ben Avery and District Board Member Chad Walters state their case for the upcoming May 2nd election, looking for support of their Levy. Avery says the language for the levy can appear misleading. The ballot requests a 1 mill levy which is what the District has operated on since 1992. However, because the levy failed in November, the wording of "additional levy" has to be included to what voters will see at the ballot. Avery says "It's essentially the same millage we've (voters) have been paying for years and years, just at today's accessed tax value." For a $100,000 home owner, that could be less than a bottle of water costs each month. Walters says the momentum of the current business climate runs the risk of slowing if the levy fails. Because the services of the Health District are state mandated, if the levy fails, the burden falls upon the City of Chillicothe and the townships of Ross County. Ross County Auditor Tom Spetnagel, Jr. says it could cost Chillicothe $250,000 to $300,000 that simply isn't in the city's budget.
