The Defiance County Board of DD approved its operating budget for 2026 during its Nov. 24 meeting and moved toward seeking a property tax levy to provide for operations.
“The 2026 budget passed, which was very similar to last year’s budget with a few exceptions,” said Good Samaritan School Superintendent Heidi Hull. “We do not have many major capital improvements planned. However, we did receive grant funding for three projects. One will provide necessary updates to our safety and security equipment. The other fund was raised by members of our community and will be used to make our independent living area more adaptive and accessible for the individuals we serve. Lastly, we will be providing updated technology to students and replacing a countertop in our kitchen that is damaged and in need of repair to continue to meet health code requirements. Our restructured billing process will also bring in additional revenue in 2026.”
The 2026 operating budget total is $8,041,500.
In addition, the board passed a resolution requesting that Defiance County commissioners place a 2-mill, continuing (permanent) levy for DD operations on the ballot in May. (As reported in Tuesday’s Crescent-News, commissioners approved a resolution of necessity for the levy during their Monday meeting, and will follow this up with a resolution placing the issue on the May primary ballot.)
“We understand and share the burden of today’s financial landscape and appreciate the continued support of the Defiance County taxpayers,” said Hull. “As an entity that does not receive inside (unvoted) millage, we are working with funds from levies that collect on property values from 1990, 2008 and 2011. These continuing levies have provided valuable revenue for many years, however, they do not increase as properties are re-evaluated.
“The needs in our community continue to increase and the Defiance County board has the responsibility to ensure that every individual with a developmental disability has access to the services and support they deserve,” Hull added. “This growth reflects both an aging population and improved identification in Early Intervention with children with developmental needs. Without additional funding the county board will be unable to maintain current service levels or meet the needs of new individuals entering the system.”
The DD board has three continuing levies in place — 0.85-mill, 1 mill and 1.9 mills.
Hull told The Crescent-News that this will be the first new money requested of county taxpayers by the DD board since 2010.
In other business, the board:
• approved a $10,000 payment for the continued operation of the Northwest Ohio Guardianship Services Board, Inc.
• approved a $1,500 donation for Night to Shine.
• received an Early Intervention report: 46 individuals are enrolled and 11 enrollments are pending. In November there were seven referrals and two exits.
• was informed that seven families are using interpreter services, including the services of a Haitian Creole interpreter who was hired by the contractor.
• was informed that service support administration caseloads totaled 250 this month with 248 last month.
• received the intake/referral report that since January there have been 49 new referrals for individuals ages 3 and older, with 11 found eligible, four ineligible, six terminated for lack of follow through and 23 pending. Also, 26 “major unusual incidents” were reported since January with four open for Defiance County. This compares to 40 at this time last year.
• approved other administrative and personnel matters.
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