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Tuesday, 10 June 2008 |
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Staff photo/Mary Bargdill Adult Services Director Greg Ferrall speaks with State Senator Keith Faber about programs offered to clients at Auglaize Industries Inc. in New Bremen Monday evening. By MARY BARGDILL
Staff Writer
NEW BREMEN—A state senator toured a local MRDD facility and spoke with board members about state funding.
Ohio Sen. Keith Faber, R-Celina, got a first hand look at Auglaize Industries Inc. in New Bremen Monday evening before addressing the MRDD Board members during their regularly scheduled meeting about the state budget.
Faber noted the state’s resources and revenue are not where everyone would like them to be in the wake of soaring prices.
Roughly 35 to 40 percent of the state budget goes toward K through 12 educational funding. Another 35 percent is spent on Medicaid and in Ohio, Medicaid spending has grown faster than educational funding.
“The goal in this budget was to see Medicaid grow no more than 4 to 4.5 percent,” Faber said. “That hasn’t happened.”
Superintendent Al Willis expressed concern over the loss of future funding for Auglaize County MRDD through the tangible personal property, which will begin fazing out in 2011.
“We’re going to lose a mill,” Willis said, noting the Auglaize County MRDD stood to lose $840,000 due to the millage drop.
“Let’s not forget there are clients that need a place to live,” board member Gwynne Freytag said.
Faber said he understood where the MRDD board members were coming from and their concerns. The Celina legislator said he supports a program that provides vouchers for housing.
“I understand the housing issue,” Faber said. “I support generally the housing vouchers. I think we need to balance and weigh all the state funding and look at the whole picture and see what the program does. Any fix has to be long term sustainable and workable.”
Willis mentioned the Auglaize County MRDD had an average growth of 0.5 percent from 2003 to 2007. “We’re at the best situation we’ve been at for a long time,” Willis said.
House Bill 405 eliminates the requirement that each county board of mental retardation and developmental disabilities maintain a service substitution list and long-term service planning registry. It also revises the law governing county boards’ waiting lists.
The bill could save county MRDD boards money as a result of no longer being required to maintain service substitutions lists or long-term service planning registries. The bill eliminates the limits on priority policies.
“Thanks for House Bill 405,” Willis told Faber. “We do really appreciate your support on getting the bill to get through.”
Board members then went into executive session to discuss management contracts, and increased the salaries of management personnel, including the superintendent, by 3 percent effective from July 2008 to June 2009. The Early Intervention Coordinator salary was increased to $43,395. |
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Last Updated ( Friday, 13 June 2008 )
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