Current expenses, fire prevention and ADAMS funding up for vote

Voters going to the polls in Lawrence County will be asked to decide on several levies in the general election on Nov. 8.

In Proctorville precincts, a 1 mill levy for fire protection will be up for renewal, while a 2.5 mill levy for current expenses will be up for renewal.

Chesapeake voters will make decision on an additional 1.5 mill levy for current expenses.

Upper Township voters will vote on renewing a 1 mill levy for fire protection, while in Fayette Township, voters will decide on a 2 mill replacement levy for fire protection.

At a Meet the Candidates event at Burlington Elementary last month, Tim McMaster, the chief of Fayette’s fire department, urged voters in his area to approve levy, stating that it would not raise taxes and would be for all property built since 1993 when the last levy was approved.

All Lawrence County voters will be asked to vote on a 1.5 mill levy for current expenses of the Adams, Lawrence, Scioto Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Heath Services (ADAMS) Board.

As ADAMS is a tri-county agency, the measure will also appear on ballots in Scioto and Adams counties.

Sue Schultz, the executive director for ADAMS, a government agency which is a political subdivision of the state governed by Ohio Revised Code 340, said the funding would be aimed at several goals.

“The main goals of this levy are prevention programs in schools,” she said. “We’d love to start those at a much younger age.”

The agency, based in Portsmouth, operates a crisis center serving residents of all three counties and Schultz said the funding would keep the center open.

“We also have a 24-hour crisis center housed there,” she said. “The center takes multiple, multiple calls during the month —  about 500-600.”

She said the agency also wants to open crisis centers in Lawrence and Adams counties. The funding for the current center came from a state grant.