Boone County is in the process of amending the language of its 37-year-old Mental Health, Intellectual Disability and Occupational Aging Tax.
The fiscal court conducted a first reading of an ordinance on Tuesday that clearly defined mental health, mental illness, intellectual disability and aging. Going forward, the county will use the definitions supplied by the American Psychological Association. The Boone County Tax Board and fiscal court are responsible for determining how the definitions are applied.
“Earlier this year, the court asked for clarification around the work supported by the MH, ID & Aging tax, specifically around the mental health category,” Boone County Human Services Department Director Laura Pleiman said.
The Boone County Fiscal Court was originally approached about creating the tax in the summer of 1986 by representatives from local community organizations such as Senior Services of Northern Kentucky in response to federal funding cuts. The organizations proposed a new occupational tax that would support mental health, intellectual disability and occupational aging services in Boone County.
Implemented in 1987, the tax is a .0015% occupational license fee capped at $25 annually. In essence, the collected funds are distributed to organizations that provide social services for mental health, intellectual disability and occupational aging. The funds are required to be used only by Boone County residents.
“Historically, the mental health tax has supported a breadth of services,” Pleiman said. “Those included in the category, such as those typical psychosocial therapies that you might consider like counseling services, substance use disorder treatments but also programs not so closely associated mental health like emergency financial assistance, shelter stays and mentoring, among others.”
The American Psychological Association defines mental health as effective functioning in daily activities that result in productive activities, healthy relationships and the ability to adapt to change and cope with adversity.
It defines intellectual disability as neurodevelopmental conditions that affect cognitive functioning, such as learning, problem solving and judgment, as well as adaptive functioning or activities of daily life, such as communication skills and social participation.
Lastly, it defines aging as adults who are 60 years of age or older and the sequential change that increases the risk of debility, disease and death as an individual grows older.
“The way we approached this is, not only did we want to provide an option for programs that treat mental illness, that treat the effects of aging and intellectual disabilities, but we will now offer support for programs that prevent those from happening in the first place,” Pleiman said.
Commissioner Chet Hand, who initially requested the county’s Human Services Department more clearly define each term at a meeting in late February, said he felt as though the updates didn’t adequately define the scope of the programs.
“I’m glad we have the definitions added in there now, but I’m still not super comfortable that we have a clear definition of scope on this program,” he said.
Judge/Executive Gary Moore responded by saying the fiscal court has a number of safeguards in place to ensure the money is distributed properly.
“We appoint the tax boards,” Moore said. “We put the individuals on the review boards for MH, ID & Aging, so we’re going to pick good people that are going to use their experience and their expertise to give us their recommendations.”
In addition, Moore noted that there are usually more requests for funding than there is money available, allowing the county to prioritize giving money to the organizations that best fit the definitional qualifications.
In February, Boone County distributed $127,900 to 10 social service agencies through the Mental Health, Intellectual Disability, and Occupational Aging Tax fund. The organizations that received funding include the Florence Christian Church, Northern Kentucky Community Action Commission, Brighton Center, and NKY Health Department.
A second reading is scheduled for the next fiscal court meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 20, at the Boone County Administration Building in Burlington.
