The levy has received more support this election cycle than the last time it was last approved in 2014 with 64% of the vote. Montgomery County is fairly unique in that it only has two human services levies — most of its peers around the state have more levies restricted to specific uses.
The county’s combined levies have never failed since they were first approved decades ago, officials said, and about 43% of levy services are provided to citizens in the urban core, while the rest go to residents who live elsewhere in the county.
The levies directly fund more than 35 nonprofits, but those organizations subcontract with many other service providers.
The levy generates about $73 million annually for a large variety of human services in Montgomery County and supporters say those services are needed now more than ever.
The human services levy renews the larger of two countywide levies that pay for services for elderly and frail residents, abused and neglected children, people with developmental disabilities, the homeless, unemployed workers and people in crisis, including those struggling with substance abuse and mental health issues.
Supporters say more than 50,000 people in the county receive direct levy-funded services, they benefit the entire community.
“This human services levy touches the lives of every single person in the community,” said Helen Jones-Kelley, executive director of Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services (ADAMHS) of Montgomery County, which receives nearly half of its revenue from the county’s human services levies.
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