Levy

We want to thank the voters who support our mission.

We also want to thank the levy committee, and boards of directors who have been good stewards of the taxpayer’s money and who keep the promise to fulfill the commitments we make to the public.

Is the TB clinic still necessary?

It sounds unbelievable, but it is a state law. Every board of county commissioners in Ohio must provide a county tuberculosis-control unit.

TB is a communicable disease, coming from a bacteria that is spread from person to person through the air. It is transmitted through the cough or sneeze of an infected person.

In 2013, according to the World Health Organization 9 million people fell ill with TB and 1.5 million died from the disease. TB is second only to HIV/AIDS as the greatest killer worldwide due to an infectious agent. Because more people travel internationally, and we have more immigrants, TB is not going to go away anytime soon. An estimated 37 million lives were saved through TB diagnosis and treatment between 2000 and 2013.

The approximate cost of treating TB in its different forms can range from $325.00 per case, to $63,436.00. Multi-drug resistant TB being the most costly. This is one of the reasons we keep a reserve back, for such cases. The reserve comes from being fiscally responsible with the tax dollars we receive each year. The reserve also allows us to continue with renewal levies (no new taxes) versus replacement levies (an increase in taxes).