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Voters Renew Belmont County Mental Health Services Levy; Reject Union Local School Levy

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — A levy that benefits the Belmont County Mental Health and Recovery Board was among those approved by voters in Tuesday’s general election.

The county-wide 1.25 mill renewal levy passed with 5,907 votes in favor and 4,614 votes against the levy. The renewal levy is a 10-year levy that will provide mental health services.

Belmont County Mental Health and Recovery Board executive director Lisa Ward said that she wants to thank the community for allowing her board to continue to provide quality services to residents who have mental health and addiction issues.

“On behalf of the board, we are just so grateful that our community sees the need for continued support of behavioral health services and that they would support us in our efforts to make our community stronger,” Ward said.

Elsewhere in the county, voters in the Union Local School District defeated a 2-mill permanent improvement levy. There were 1,408 ballots cast against the levy and 737 in favor.

Union Local Superintendent Zac Shutler said he was disappointed that the levy didn’t pass, but he noted the needs of the district do not change with the result of the vote.

“As a district, we did our best to provide the necessary information to our community about the condition of our facilities. We respect the voters’ decision. However, this is a discussion we must continue to have with our constituents,” he said. “This is about our students and the future of the school district. We will continue to work with our community to find a path forward.”

Three current expense levies were on the ballot in Shadyside, with voters approving two of them.

The first, a 1.9-mill renewal levy, passed with 544 votes in favor, and 404 votes against. The levy amounts to $9 for each $100,000 of the county auditor’s assessed value of a property for five years while 404 votes were tallied against the levy.

The second Shadyside current expenses levy that passed was a renewal levy for 2.5 mills, or $12 for each $100,000 of the county auditor’s assessed value for five years. There were 526 votes in favor while 415 were cast against it.

The last Shadyside current expenses levy was a replacement levy for 1.35 mills, or $47 for each $100,000 of the county auditor’s assessed value for five years. It failed to pass with only 317 votes in favor while 614 votes were cast against it.

In the village of Belmont, voters rejected a police levy by a vote of 70 to 31.

A parks and recreation levy in Powhatan Point passed with 145 voting in favor, and 49 casting ballots against.

Flushing voters, meanwhile, rejected a levy for fire protection. There were 94 ballots cast against the measure, with just 52 in favor.

In Goshen Township, residents approved three separate levies. The first, for roads and bridges, passed 220 to 165. The second was for fire protection, and voters approved it 219-161. The third, also for fire protection, passed 229-154.

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