CLEVELAND — Cuyahoga County voters will get the chance to vote on Issue 26 this month, a health and human services initiative worth more than $137 million over eight years.


What You Need To Know

  • Issue 26 is a health and human services levy

  • Issue 26 is on the ballot in Cuyahoga County in the March 19 Primary

  • If passed again, it would set aside $137 million over the next eight years

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It’s a renewal levy that would allow the county to keep funding programs focused on health and human services.

Chamere Davis owns the childcare center ‘Mini Miracles’ in Euclid and said she relies on funding from the current levy to operate.

“We can enhance our classrooms, pay our teachers a higher salary and offer scholarships to our parents so that they can afford the tuition,” Davis said.

She said she opened the facility in 2016 with the hope of improving the lives of little kids and helping them become great adults.

“They have a positive environment, safe place to come to and the materials that they need to learn,” Davis said.

But funding the program comes with its challenges. Davis has overcome them in part because of the funding from the levy.

But without voter approval this month, that funding could soon go away.

“These levies are crucial to maintaining the health and human services safety net for Cuyahoga County residents,” said William Tarter Jr., policy fellow for The Center for Community Solutions.

Tarter said the levy benefits everything from mental health services to the office of reentry.

“Without these resources, it would be very difficult to maintain the social services that are available to county residents, regardless of where they find themselves in life,” Tarter said.

Tarter pointed out that since the levy is up for renewal, passing it wouldn’t raise taxes at all.

At the same time, it would continue to help Davis fund up to 40% of her universal Pre-K program, and she said it gives those students the best opportunity to succeed.

“So we can continue the excellent service that we’re able to provide the children,” Davis said.

The tax currently costs property owners in Cuyahoga County about $115 per year for every $100,000 of appraised value on a home.