Madison Township voters may see a fire department replacement levy on November ballot
Madison Township residents most likely will see a proposed fire department operating levy replacement on the November ballot.
Trustees voted Monday for Fire Chief Ken Justus to work with Trustee Dan Fletcher on the ballot language and Richland County Auditor Pat Dropsey for the accompanying figures for a resolution of necessity, the first of two resolutions needed for the 5.5 mill replacement issue to be put before voters.
Justus told the board during his administrative report that the levy was first passed in 2000 and is being collected at a rate of 3.17 mills, which generates $680,000 to $700,000 per year. If the replacement levy is run at a replacement of its original 5.5 mills, it will raise an additional $380,000 per year for department operations without adding a new levy.
If approved, Justus said, the replacement levy would cost the owner of a home valued at $100,000 an additional $81 per year. He added that it’s important to think about what someone today can get for $81 per year.
“Comparison figures for what things cost in 2000 and what they cost today, the inflation rate, according to the U.S. government, the average is 81.2% for that time period,” Justus said. “This also is something that has been mentioned by the State of Ohio multiple times in our fiscal caution meetings, that we need to move forward with this.”
Trustees Chairman Tom Craft agreed. “We’ve been beating this horse for some time,” he said.
Trustee Dan Fletcher pointed out that a five-year, 4 mill levy that originally was approved in 2005 was not “updated" when voters approved the most recent renewal in 2020.
Trustees indicated they could vote as soon as their next meeting, April 15, to approve the first levy resolution.
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Fire department seeks ambulance purchase, new chaplain named
Madison Trustees agreed Monday to go forward with a proposal by Justus to buy a used 2018 Ford F550 four-wheel drive ambulance that is being held by a New Jersey salesman who previously sold the township two other ambulances that were refurbished and put into service. A formal decision is pending a recommendation from Fiscal Officer Leanna Rhodes whether the $128,000 cost should be paid by transferring funds from other fire department accounts, using American Rescue Plan Act dollars or taking a loan.
Justus told the board the amount needed could be reduced to $110,000 by the department selling a transfer cot and loading system. He also said he located other ambulances with similar specifications in the used market in the price range of $178,599 to $189,500 and that he received a quote for a new 2026 ambulance with similar specifications from an area dealer at a cost of $317,116.
“Shelby is currently waiting for their new ambulance that they ordered in June 2023. At that time it was quoted as $284,363 but, because of upcharges, the new price is $304,363 and will not be delivered until January 2025,” Justus said.
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The chief also presented trustees with a purchase plan for ambulances over the next two to three years that will give the fire department two remounted ambulances on new chassis along with the 2018 Ford at a total cost of $279,928.
Trustees also approved a third recommendation by Justus to appoint Rusty Rissler, an employee with the Mansfield Baptist Temple, as the fire department chaplain to replace Phil Green, who is unable to continue serving. The Madison resident will go through a chaplain training program and be provided a uniform and basic protective gear.
In other business Monday, Madison Trustees allocated $6,528 in ARPA funds for a drain tile replacement on North Stewart Road and amended a previous allocation to add $950 to an earlier allocation to pay for a new emergency generator at the main fire station and move the one that had been at the fire station to the township office.
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The board also heard a report from Fletcher, who said he has asked a local engineering firm for their proposed fee to design a replacement for a large culvert on Belmont Avenue between Hanna Road and Hahn Road.
This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Madison Township OH trustees consider fire department replacement levy
