By John Kiesewetter
The Cincinnati Enquirer

HAMILTON - Services for 1,700 Butler County residents could be jeopardized if voters decline a new 1-mill tax levy in November for the Butler County Board of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities.

The board collects the final revenues this year on two half-mill levies that expired last year, said Jim Mueller, executive director. The combined levies - based on 1976 and 1984 property valuations - generate about $3.4 million, he said.

Mueller told county commissioners Thursday of plans to seek a 1-mill levy on Nov. 2 that would generate about $7.1 million annually.

"The old levy expires. We don't have much of a choice," Mueller said.

The owner of a $100,000 home would pay $30.62 a year for the tax, an increase of $19.78 from the old levies, according to the county auditor's office, because of revised property evaluations.

The additional funds would provide financial stability for five years, Mueller said.

"We don't spend all the $7 million in the first year. We make it last. It's the responsible and conservative way," Mueller said.

Commissioners will be asked to place the issue on the ballot after Mueller's board meets June 10. It would be the second countywide social services tax request.

Earlier this month, commissioners voted to place a half-mill renewal levy for Butler County Mental Health services on the Nov. 2 ballot.

Voters in March rejected what was the seventh mental health tax issue since 1988.

E-mail jkiesewetter@enquirer.com