Cuyahoga County voters decided Tuesday that a slight increase in property taxes was worth bringing up social services to levels not seen since sweeping federal cuts diminished them years ago.
Issues 10 and 11, needed to fund the county’s Board of Developmental Disabilities and its Health and Human Services, passed overwhelmingly, according to unofficial counts from the Board of Elections. Just over 60 % of voters said yes for each levy ask.
Meaning those who were for the levies found the trade-off worthwhile — roughly $170 more in year-end property taxes for every $100,000 in home value, in exchange for improved foster care, job search help and mental health support on a countywide level.
County Executive Chris Ronayne, who won his uncontested bid for re-election on Tuesday, reacted to the big wins with an air of resolution. Especially, despite Democrats’ blue wave this week, as grocery costs and gas prices refuse to budge.
“We appreciate the trust voters have placed in us,” Ronayne wrote in a statement Wednesday morning.
“We remain committed to being responsible stewards of taxpayer dollars,” he added, “making thoughtful investments and ensuring these resources are used effectively to meet the needs of our residents.”
Sweeping cuts in nearly every branch of government by the Department of Government Efficiency last year put a bottleneck on funds that would have trickled down to the county level, used by agencies on everything from aiding job searches to remediating lead.
The cuts left Cuyahoga’s social services net out of tens of millions of dollars and dozens of programs slashed. Its Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services Board has lost roughly $8.5 million since, resulting in downsizing or closures at recovery homes and drug addiction centers, citywide. Ronayne had even considered cutting Meals on Wheels.
Now, county taxpayers will step in to fill most, but not all, of the funding shortfalls. A combined $210 million will head toward both social services bodies in 2027, Ronayne said, and be spread out throughout the next decade.
Jason Joyce, the CEO of the ADAMHS Board, echoed Ronayne’s humble gratitude reflecting on a wave of support, amplified in October, by those willing to pay more to back mental health care.
“Voters have demonstrated their commitment to investing in the health of our community,” he said in a statement to Scene.
“We have an opportunity to honor that commitment by ensuring these resources make a meaningful difference in the lives of individuals and families who need care,” he said.
In a phone call, Ronayne summarized Tuesday night’s wins as a “moment of reckoning” for the country’s political narrative, just as it gave him reassurance Cuyahoga County could step up where higher levels of government were unwilling to.
“My heart was warm. We are the safety net when others have faltered,” he told Scene. Ronayne framed the levy wins as an end to a “feeling as of being demonized by federal and state leaders that urban core areas are the quote ‘problem’ for the country.”
Demonization that Ronayne hopes dissolves in the next four years. Especially with governor-elect Amy Acton and senator-elect Sherrod Brown working above him.
“It’s affirming,” he said. “I mean, last night we elected a dream team.”
