Warren County voters will decide in November whether or not to levy a quarter-cent sales tax to fund children’s mental health services that are either not available locally or to expand those already available.

The county commission last Thursday voted unanimously to approve placing Proposition 1 Putting Kids First on the Nov. 3 ballot.

The decision came after Warren County Resource Board members approached the three-member commission asking for support of the initiative.

The sales tax could fund services such as drug/alcohol treatment and prevention, home- and school-based family intervention, counseling and teen pregnancy. The funds can only be used for youth 19 and younger.

A simple majority is required for passage. The deadline to put the tax increase on the ballot was Aug. 24.

“I’m not for tax increases, and I run on that, but I think this is a need and it’s for the kids,” said Presiding Commissioner Arden Engelage, who won a re-election bid two days earlier. “It’s a very good thing you are doing. We will let the voters decide.”

According to the commissioners, the quarter-cent sales tax would generate approximately $587,000 annually based on current projections.

The all-volunteer resource board, formed in October, is comprised of nine county residents appointed by the commission. The board, modeled after those created in nearby counties, has the authority to allocate the funds where it deems necessary.

A needs study conducted earlier this summer estimated it would cost $5 million to meet the needs of 7,358 children. The number of people who could be impacted could be as high as 31,162, as the number of children directly impacted was multiplied by 2.64, the average household size for Warren County.

The Resource Board decided to approach the county commission after a phone polling conducted last month showed that 71 percent of more than 400 voters contacted were in favor of the tax.

That figure jumped up to 79 percent once the tax was explained further and how the funds would used. In comparison, 18 percent were against the tax pre-message with 11 percent undecided, but those numbers shrunk to 16 percent against and 5 percent undecided after the initiative was discussed further.

“Surprisingly to me, it was overwhelmingly positive,” said Karl Lenzenhuber, resource board president.

Despite the down economy, resource board members and others feel the timing is right to ask for voter support.

Resource Board member Jill Schowe, who also is the principal at Rebecca Boone Elementary, feels families would take advantage if more services are available. She pointed out that more than half of the students in the Warren County R-III School District are participating in the free or reduced lunch program.

“A lot of parents want to provide services to their children, but they might not have reliable transportation so they can’t go down the highway to St. Charles County,” she said. “If we had something locally, they might be able to utilize it right here in our community.”

Health care agencies are likely to expand their services in Warren County if the proposition is approved by voters.

Crider Health Center, one of the local agencies backing the initiative, already operates an office in Warrenton, while Preferred Family Healthcare currently uses a van to pick up area youth at McDonald’s in Warrenton or Wright City in order to transport them to St. Charles for treatment, according to Vice President Jim Wallis.

Though students in Warren County attend school districts in surrounding counties, the voter-approved funds would follow the student, according to Annie Schulte, Franklin County Resource Board executive director. She noted how Warren County students in the Washington School District participate currently in  prevention programs there, but only if a class consists of more than 50 percent of students living in Franklin County.

Franklin County voters approved a similar sales tax in 2008.

“We are all working on services to expand in Warren County so kids don’t have to leave the county,” said Karl Wilson, Crider Health Center president and CEO. “I think with most services we are trying to get as close to the kids and families as possible.”

Southern District Commissioner Hubie Kluenser said the expanded services may eventually lead to reduced expenses tied with housing inmates in the county jail.

Should Prop 1 fail in the November election, proponents would have to wait two years until the initiative can be placed on the ballot again.