By Cindi Andrews
The Cincinnati Enquirer

A 4-mill replacement levy for the county's Mental Retardation & Developmental Disabilities agency passed 54 percent to 46 percent, according to unofficial returns.

MRDD's first request in seven years was prompted largely by the county's growth, which has included an increase in the number of residents with severe mental retardation, agency officials said.

The 4-mill levy would replace levies passed in 1980 and 1990, allowing MRDD to collect taxes based on today's property values. It would cost the owner of a $100,000 home an extra $61 a year and raise an additional $6.5 million annually for the care of the mentally retarded.

Mental Health Recovery Services of Warren and Clinton counties also was fared well, with its 1-mill replacement levy winning 55 percent to 45 percent in Warren. The levy would raise $4.7 million a year and cost the owner of a $100,000 home an extra $14.

In Lebanon, a request to increase the city's income tax from 1 percent to 1.5 percent failed by a wide margin - 78 percent to 22 percent. The tax would have raised an additional $2 million a year to maintain current services, city officials said.

Lebanon's cash reserves have fallen in recent years, in large part because the city built its own $10 million-plus telecommunications system.

E-mail candrews@enquirer.com