Western-Star.com

HAMILTON — County leaders say they won't go back to voters in the fall for a tax increase for Butler County Children Services.

Instead, commissioners said they'll continue to make cuts at the agency to meet projected shortfalls in coming years.

Local voters passed a 2-mill replacement levy passed Tuesday, March 4.

Children Services Director Michael Fox said the tax will help maintain services, but will not account for an average 8.3 percent annual budget increase or changes to the state's tax structure.

Fox said the agency is now on track for a $6 million shortfall in 2009. After the county put the tax on the March ballot, Fox kept the door open for another levy in the fall. But all three commissioners nixed that idea at their Thursday, March 6, meeting.

"I don't think it's in our interest at that time to do that," said Commission President Charles Furmon. "There's so many changes and so much we need to look at at Children Services, we really intend to take a good hard look before deciding where we're going in the future."

Changes at the agency have been ongoing since 3-year-old Marcus Fiesel's 2006 death, which his foster parents were convicted of. Commissioners since unveiled a raft of new initiatives, including firing the director and hiring Fox, hiring investigators to increase background checks, hiring 11 caseworkers to reduce caseloads and recruiting more foster parents.

They paid for all this by cutting administrative staff, Fox said. But commissioners said there's still fat in the agency's budget. Furmon said the agency's employees ballooned from 136 staffers to 200 from 2003 to 2007.

"Over the years, we've just peen painting signs on the doors and hiring people and giving them titles," agreed Commissioner Donald Dixon.

Commissioner Gregory Jolivette said voters — 54 percent on whom approved the levy — made it clear Tuesday they barely supported maintaining the tax, let alone an increase. But he said the county may need money for new initiatives "that may be costly, but may also be effective," and suggested the county explore public-private partnerships to fill the hole.