The two-county agency that is the primary funding source for social programs to deal with substance abuse prevention and treatment and other mental health disorders is asking voters to continue supporting its levy.
Individuals with mental health diagnoses, care providers, friends and family members gather for a retirement party at the Recovery Zone in 2015. The Recovery Zone, which provides a family environment for individuals with mental health disorders, is one of several agencies funded by the property tax levy for Mental Health Drug and Alcohol Services of Logan and Champaign counties. (EXAMINER FILE PHOTO | REUBEN MEES)
The Mental Health Drug and Alcohol Services Board of Logan and Champaign Counties’ 0.7-mill replacement levy would generate $1.4 million a year for a variety of programs.
It would cost the owner of a $100,000 property 7 cents a day, Executive Director David Higgins said, or roughly $25 a year to support programs that touch everyone from young children and teenagers to adults and seniors.
“We do provide funding for inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation, but a taxpayer’s 7 cents a day buys a whole lot more than that,” the director said.
The MHDAS board operates on a budget of about $3.5 million — slightly more than a third of which is from the local levy, while the remainder comes from the state and various grant funding.
The largest program funded by the agency is Consolidated Care Inc., which is the primary provider of substance abuse treatment in both counties.
Read complete story in Monday’s Examiner.
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