MAHONING COUNTY LEVIES
Here are some facts about tuberculosis, the county’s tuberculosis levy (Issue 4), and the county’s Children Services Board levy (Issue 5):
TUBERCULOSIS FACTS
The disease is spread by germs that become airborne when someone with TB disease of the lungs or throat coughs, sneezes, speaks or sings, and these germs can stay in the air for several hours.
TB usually affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body, such as the brain, kidneys or spine.
Symptoms include coughing, chest pain, coughing up blood, feelings of sickness, weakness, weight loss, fever, and night sweats.
People with active TB disease are sick; the germs are multiplying and destroying tissues in their bodies; and they can spread the germs to others.
People with latent TB have inactive TB germs in their bodies, have no symptoms and cannot spread the disease to others, but they could develop the disease in the future.
If you’ve been around someone with active TB, you should go to your doctor or local health department for tests.
TUBERCULOSIS LEVY FACTS
It’s a 0.1-mill, five-year renewal of a real-estate tax levy first passed in 1976.
It generates about $176,540 a year for the TB clinic at 496 Glenwood Ave., which is operated by the county health department.
It costs the owner of a $100,000 home $1.20 a year.
The clinic did 2,262 TB screenings, and the county had 13 cases of the disease in 2011.
CHILDREN SERVICES BOARD LEVY
It’s a 0.5-mill, five-year renewal of a real estate tax levy first passed in 1982.
It generates about $1.3 million a year for the child welfare agency, costing the owner of a $100,000 home $9.08 a year.
It constitutes about 10 percent of CSB’s annual revenue.
Sources: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Mahoning County health and children services boards
Comments
Mass TB doesn't exist anymore and is easily treated by antibiotics when the rare cases are found. This is yet another example of wasting taxpayers money. No to this un-needed levy!
The only way to get back control of our Govt. is to starve it vote no on all taxes.
So, if all this taxpayer levy money is generated each year and not many new TB cases show up each year...cases such as those which can be treated wth antibiotics...WHAT then happens to all of this money....EACH YEAR, year AFTER year??