By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Wood Lane is giving the voters a little gift next year.
The Wood County Board of Developmental Disabilities voted Monday to request the Wood County Budget Commission to suspend collection of the 2.95-mill levy for 2017.
That means the board will not collect on the levy, which brought in nearly $8.4 million this year. To the owner of a house valued at $100,000, that is a savings of $93, according to the Wood County Auditor’s Office.
The levy suspension is possible because of a lot of cost-cutting measures at the local level and changes mandated at the state level, according to Wood Lane Board President Ed Metzger.
“We have not reduced the level of service,” Metzger stressed Monday evening.
This may be the first time Wood Lane has ever suspended the collection of levy millage in the county.
“It is something the budget commission has talked to us about in the past,” Metzger said.
“As board members, we have talked about not just the service to our population, but also our responsibility to the taxpayers,” Metzger said Monday evening.
The levy collection will be suspended just for 2017, then the need will be re-evaluated for 2018, Metzger said. The board was reluctant to give up the levy funds for more than a year in case there are further changes at the state level.
“Things can change at the snap of a finger on the legislative side,” Metzger said.
The board’s decision comes after a number of cost-saving measures since the five-year levy was passed in 2013. There has been a steady reduction of staff as individuals served by Wood Lane choose private providers. That has resulted from legislative action that stops boards of developmental disabilities from doing both the prescribing and providing of services to citizens.
Other savings have been seen due to transportation changes, a conservative salary increase and the anticipated merger of the county board’s health plan with the county commissioners’ health insurance plan.
The Wood County Board of Developmental Disabilities also continues to increase the enrollment of individuals in home and community based waivers and increase utilization of federal funds. Finally, the county board reviews its capital plan annually to maintain fiscal responsibility with a preventative maintenance program.
Despite these cost-saving measures, the number of individuals eligible for services continues to steadily increase with needs and diagnoses being more diverse. The board will continue to provide services such as nursing and occupational therapy not covered as a waiver-funded service. The board will also continue to provide the match of federal funded waiver dollars, as well as fully fund services not covered by waivers, and remain responsible for monitoring the services, regardless of the funding source.
“The county board will continue to be mindful of its fiscal responsibility by achieving cost savings when available and increasing utilization of waiver services,” Wood Lane Superintendent Brent Baer stated in a press release.
Metzger praised the Wood Lane administration and staff for helping to make the levy suspension possible.
“It is truly the effort of the hard-work and sacrifices from the staff and administration of Wood Lane that have allowed us to suspend collection of the 2.95-mill levy for 2017,” Metzger said. “We will continue, however, to be ever vigilant to assure the best services and support for the citizens of Wood County with developmental disabilities.”
