By Cindi Andrews
Enquirer staff reporter

Less than five weeks before he will help decide whether Drake Center can ask voters for a tax levy, Hamilton County Commissioner Phil Heimlich on Thursday asked the hospital to stop running advertisements and accused its leaders of deceiving him.

The long-term hospital's newspaper, TV and radio ads are a thinly veiled attempt to build support for its proposed levy, Heimlich said in a letter to President and CEO Roberta Bradford. The hospital had planned to spend $500,000 on the ads this year even though most patients are referred by other hospitals such as University Hospital.

"When taxpayers commit their hard-earned money for this levy ... they don't think it's going for snappy TV commercials or glossy ads," Heimlich said.

Drake leaders had no immediate response to the letter, spokeswoman Kathy Graham said Thursday.

Drake has asked for a levy that will provide $99 million over the next five years - a 39 percent increase over its current levy. Some members of the county's Tax Levy Review Committee, however, say its operating costs are already too high.

Hamilton is the only county in Ohio that has a levy just for a long-term acute care and skilled nursing hospital.

Drake would be wise to drop its ads, Commissioner Todd Portune said, even though he doesn't share Heimlich's suspicion that they're intended to promote a levy.

"I'll give them the benefit of the doubt on that," he said, "but at the same time I will acknowledge that even under the best of circumstances and intentions it just doesn't pass the sniff test."

Another thing that doesn't pass the sniff test, according to Heimlich: an e-mail criticizing Tax Levy Review Committee Chairman Chris Finney that was circulated in May by Maureen Godshall, president of Drake's advertising agency, Loren/Allan/Odioso Advertising.

When Bradford was asked if the e-mail writer had a financial interest in Drake, she responded that the hospital was "not involved" in the e-mail.

"I am offended that 1) you would deliberately mislead me, and 2) someone who benefits from the public dollars Drake receives would attack a volunteer who has put in numerous hours serving our taxpayers for no compensation," Heimlich said in his letter.

He demanded an apology.

The commissioners have until Aug. 19 to decide what size levy - if any - they will put on the Nov. 2 ballot. All three have expressed concerns about the need for Drake to control costs, but none has said what levy amount he's willing to support.

Over the protests of Finney and one other member, the Tax Levy Review Committee recommended a $94 million levy. However, Heimlich said if cost-cutting measures in the committee's report were followed, Drake would only need one-third to two-thirds of its $99 million request.

E-mail candrews@enquirer.com