LISBON - Columbiana County Prosecutor Robert Herron said Friday no one from his office was contacted by anyone from the county health department regarding questions over its lack of a disclaimer on levy promotional materials.

After being told about the material, though, he said he planned to have an assistant prosecutor contact the health department. The prosecutor's office serves as the legal representation for the health department in most circumstances.

"If they don't initiate it, we will," he said regarding the phone call.

The health department mailed out material to remind former patients of the cancer detection clinic about the services the clinic provides and to inform them about the .2-mill levy replacement being sought to continue clinic operations.

The material included a letter on health department letterhead and a brochure about cancer clinic services. The brochure asked people to vote yes for the levy replacement on Tuesday's ballot, but it did not contain a disclaimer telling who paid for its printing and distribution.

Herron said the election laws are clear that if there is any type of election group accepting funding, it must set up a committee and any materials it distributes must contain a disclaimer identifying the source.

In the case of the health department, no political action committee paperwork was filed with the Columbiana

County Board of Elections until Thursday afternoon, according to personnel from the Board of Elections.

Health Commissioner Wesley Vins was asked about the lack of the disclaimer Wednesday night. He said the money used for the brochures came from private donations for the benefit of the clinic, stressing that no levy money was used. State law prohibits a a public body from using public funds for the promotion of a tax issue.

He also noted this was his first time dealing with a levy. In an E-mail Thursday, he said he tried to find some answers to the questions over the levy and said they had a PAC to benefit the clinic and everything seemed to be okay with the election board. He said they mailed out about 800 of the brochures and the cost was about $1,600 to $1,700.

>If approved, the tax levy will replace the current .2-mill levy being collected for the cancer clinic and generate an estimated $238,500 per year since it will be based on today's home values instead of the values from 10 years ago.

The replacement will mean a slight increase for taxpayers. According to a levy analysis by the county Auditor's Office, the owner of a $100,000 home would pay an additional $1.45 per year on top of what they're already paying for the levy. The total cost would be $6.13 per year for the owner of a $100,000 home.

A PAC must provide an accounting of expenditures made and contributions received, with the next report due Dec. 11 representing activity between Oct. 14 through Dec. 4.