At the November general election, a Fayette County Public Health renewal levy will be on the ballot.

This will be a .5 mil renewal to a levy that originally passed in 1988.

A renewal levy is voter-approved to extend the term and purpose of an expiring levy while considering original property valuations at the time of passage, which in this case, would be 1988. In order to raise the same amount of funding as the original year of passage, renewal mills have a reduction factor annually applied.

The millage rate is the number of dollars of tax assessed for each $1,000 of property value.

According to Missy Smith, public information officer for Fayette County Public Health, “The amount of tax coming from each household would depend on the valuation of their home. When a renewal levy is passed at the identical mills as the original levy, it typically does not change the amount of tax that a taxpayer currently pays.”

To calculate this adjustment, taxpayers can take 35% of the total valuation of their property and multiply it by 0.16446 mils (or 0.00016446) which is the current effective rate given by the state of Ohio.

“For example, if your property is valued at $100,000, you would pay around $5.76 annually,” explained Smith. “Taxpayers can also easily find the amount they are paying by visiting the Fayette County auditor’s website to view the distribution of their taxes to see what they are paying now.”

Smith explained how the funds from this levy will be used for general health department operations including health promotion and disease prevention.

The funding will cover things like health visits to senior centers, healthy lifestyle programs like Fat Fighters and Rolling Rimples, family planning, vital records, environmental services that protect our food and water, immunizations for children and adults, flu shots, and other health screenings and services.

“This levy will support essential health services without increasing taxes,” said Smith. “Public health initiatives have increased life expectancy in the U.S. by nearly 30 years.”

Smith explained to the Record-Herald, “Fayette County Public Health works to protect the community from health threats; educate the public about health issues; provide access to preventative screenings and care; and advance the health of Fayette County residents by working with community partners to address existing and emerging challenges to the health of the community.”

For additional information on the renewal levy, you can visit www.faycohd.org.