Troy fire levy goes on ballot despite opposition
LEXINGTON – Troy Township trustees will ask voters for an additional 2 mill continuing levy for fire services despite talk earlier this summer of possibly withdrawing the issue from the ballot.
Some area residents oppose the tax issue and say township officials should first pursue options other than seeking higher millage, including rebuilding the fire department's volunteer roster.
Trustees initially adopted a resolution May 26 to put an issue designed to raise $278,275 more toward fire services on the Nov. 3 ballot.
The 2 additional mills proposed for a continuing period could be used for a range of purposes. According to the ballot language, that could include maintaining fire equipment or buildings, fire alarm lines, sources of water, paying part-time volunteer firefighters or firefighting companies, required benefits for firefighters, or providing ambulance or emergency medical services.
Richland County Elections Director Bill Freytag said a township official approached him after levy resolutions had been delivered to the board of elections, asking what would be involved in rescinding the issues.
Tax issues and most nonpartisan candidates face a deadline of 4 p.m. Wednesday to go on the Nov. 3 ballot.
The trustees' last regular meeting before that deadline was Monday. During the meeting, trustees told residents who had expressed concerns about the levy they would decide whether it would remain on the ballot after holding a lengthy executive session on personnel issues that night.
But "I believe we are leaning in that direction. We're going to let the voters decide," Chairman Dan. K. Wittmer said.
Fiscal Officer Dean Strohminger confirmed later this week that the trustees decided not to remove the proposed levy from the ballot.
Critics of the additional millage said Monday the township had a starting balance of nearly $3.13 million across all funds as of June 2015, and they said the trustees should consider spending down a portion of reserves before asking voters to approve permanent additional millage. They also said prospective volunteers have been rejected as potential recruits, and they believe the fire department should work to rebuild the number of volunteers.
Strohminger said Saturday that trustees built up a township reserve more than a decade ago and that it remains there today for rainy-day purposes, such as cuts in outside funding, because trustees have been careful in their spending.
"If we spent all of that, we would spend it down and have nothing," he said.
Annual revenue coming into the township will total about $900,000 this year, and budgeting is based on new amounts coming in, he said.
The fiscal officer said the current 2 mill fire levy brings in $200,000, covering pay for 13 part-time fire personnel who primarily cover the day shift and six other part-timers available if calls come in after 5:30 p.m.
Currently, the station is staffed with two paid fire personnel from around 6 a.m. to about 5:30 p.m. weekdays.
But "we don't have anybody in the fire stations after that (time), and we don't have anybody in the station on the weekends," Strohminger said. "We have very, very few volunteers. All of the fire departments have very few volunteers any more."
"We're trying to bring in more people. We're wanting to go into 24 hour staffing, and the funds we get each year will not support that," the fiscal officer said.
Springfield Township has asked Troy Township to begin paying it for mutual aid response on calls for which Troy can find no staffing.
"They said it was lopsided," with Springfield responding to more mutual aid requests in Troy Township than the other way around, but officials from the two townships are still negotiating the issue, Strohminger said.
If the levy is approved, the owner of a $100,000 home in Troy Township would pay $70 per year on additional millage.
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