FAIRFIELD COUNTY -- The sole countywide issue on the May 2005 ballot is being removed.

Members of the Fairfield County Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Board voted at their Feb. 22 meeting to petition the County Commissioners to remove Issue 1, a 1-mill levy, from the ballot. Instead, the board will concentrate on campaigning and fundraising for the replacement of an existing .75-mill levy in November 2005.

"It was a really tough decision but I think generally speaking the sentiment is that we need to take some additional time to educate the community about what the mental health and substance abuse needs of our county are," said Orman Hall, ADAMH Board executive director. "At this point, given the number of tax issues that are on this spring and what we believe to be a pretty negative tax environment, we're apprehensive."

The existing levy was first passed in 1975, Hall said, and the ADAMH Board began collecting revenue in 1976. The levy has been renewed every 10 years since.

The original amount of the levy, .75 mills, has been eroded over time to .13 mills, Hall said. In accordance with House Bill 920, the levy amount is rolled back when property values are reevaluated.

The ADAMH Board receives $530,000 per year as a result of the .13 mill levy. If the levy is renewed, the millage will be raised back up to .75, which will generate an additional $1.6 million, Hall said.

"We're optimistic we're going to be able to get a replacement passed," he said. "That's not going to meet all the needs of our county, but it'll go a long way toward restoring the safety net we've lost."

Organizations under the ADAMH Board's umbrella suffered cutbacks two years ago, said New Horizons Youth and Family Center Chief Executive Officer Tony Motta. Recently, New Horizons discontinued their sliding-fee scale for the first time in its 34-year history. The center now only accepts patients with insurance or Medicaid, or patients who can pay the

full amount for their treatment.

"We've always had this sliding-fee scale -- that's what mental-health care places are supposed to have," Motta said. "We're having a hard time with it, and so are the clients that are calling us."

New Horizons serves approximately 4,000 Fairfield County residents per year, Motta said.

Although the board's decision to take Issue 1 off the May ballot is hard to take, the New Horizons staff will still help campaign for the replacement levy in November, Motta said.

"We'll support anything that leads to the successful passage of a levy," he said.

The decision to remove the issue won't affect election preparations, said Fairfield County Board of Elections Director Alice Nicolia. The Board of Elections hasn't yet sent the ballot material to the printer, and will hold the materials until the commissioners make a decision.

That decision should come today, said County Commissioner Mike Kiger. This is the first time in his two years as a commissioner that an issue has been taken off the ballot, he said, but the commissioners will likely grant the ADAMH Board's request at their regular meeting today.

"Since (the ADAMH board) did request that, I would assume it's the way it would go," he said. "It's an unusual thing to have happen, but with the current public sentiment toward levies and taxes, I think it's a good decision."