Local counselor urges passage of Franklin County ADAMH levy, warns services could shrink to crisis care

Linda Jacques, executive director of Concord Counseling Services in Westerville, urged Upper Arlington City Council on Oct. 6 to back Franklin County’s Alcohol, Drug and Mental Health (ADAMH) levy on the November ballot, saying the board “gets 75% of their funding from this property tax, this levy.”

Jacques described Issue 1 as a 10-year levy with a proposed 0.5% increase, which she said amounts to “about $1.46 for a $100,000 home per month.” She said the increase is modest but important amid uncertainty about Medicaid and other revenue sources. “Pretty much all that’s gonna be left is crisis services and treatment,” she said, arguing that without the levy vocational services, housing help and recovery supports could disappear.

Council members asked how Upper Arlington residents access ADAMH-funded services and whether local partners were engaged. Jacques pointed to collaborations with school-based prevention programs (she named Sentero and recommended the council invite Sentero leaders to brief the council) and said police and fire routinely interact with ADAMH-funded providers. A fire division speaker described the new crisis center at 465 Harmon Avenue as a transport destination that keeps people out of emergency rooms and speeds first-responder turnaround.

The presentation emphasized the levy’s local impacts: services working in school systems, crisis diversion capacity, and non-crisis supports such as vocational and housing assistance. Jacques said she is reaching out to community stakeholders and offered to provide materials for council waiting rooms.

Next steps: Jacques’ remarks were informational; the council did not take a formal vote on the levy during the meeting. The levy appears on the county ballot in November; campaign and ballot-qualification actions were not covered in the presentation.