Franklin Township has placed a safety services levy on the May 3, 2022 ballot. Photo provided.
Franklin Township has placed a safety services levy on the May 3 ballot.
The proposed 6 mill levy is needed to pay for the increasing cost of fire and emergency medical services daily operation and to provide an additional Deputy Sheriff in Franklin Township, according to Franklin Township Fire Department Chief Brad Moore.
The township’s last fire levy was in 2000 for 3 mils for fire and paramedic services.
Currently, Franklin Township Fire and EMS staffs three part-time employees 24-hours hours a day, 365 days a year. Recently, the department has seen a steady increase of more than 20- to 25-percent in fire and EMS runs each year.
The levy increase would allow for:
– Continued funding of paramedic and fire/rescue personnel. – Capital investments including replacement of aging apparatus and equipment, as well as providing funding for station renovations needed to accommodate increased staffing. – Up-to-date training. – The hiring of additional full- and part-time fire and emergency medical personnel to allow for additional staffing each day to meet increasing service demands. – The ability to staff two EMS units or one EMS unit and fire apparatus. – Hiring one contract Deputy Sheriff for Franklin Township and the villages of Felicity and Chilo.
The current levies have an effective rate of 5.6 mills out of 12 mils due to age of the fire and EMS levies, bringing in less than half of its value, Moore explained.
If approved, the levy would assess $6 per $1,000 of assessed property value and will generate an average of $410,000 a year. A property’s assessed value is a percentage of its market value of 35-percent.
In other words, the current the current levy costs the owner of a property valued at $100,000 some $172 each year. If approved, the owner of a property valued at $100,000 some $210 each year, Moore explained.
Tax exemptions are offered. Low income seniors and individuals with disabilities may qualify for exemption for property taxes under the “Homestead Exemption.” More information is available on the Ohio Department of Taxation and Clermont County Auditor websites.
Moore said that he’s asking for people’s support of the levy to to help the department continue with its budget for fire and EMS, and to add the staff needed to keep up with the increase run volume. He also notes that adding a Sheriff Deputy will help meet community need.
“We haven’t been back to the voters in 22 years,” he said.
Moore touted the fact that the Franklin Township Fire and EMS has been able to secure more than 2.3 million dollar in Federal, State, and local grants to equip its firefighters, remodel the fire station, buy a new fire engine, and add two medic units.
“By securing theses grants, we’ve been able to save the taxpayer a bit of money,” he said. “We’ve stretched their dollar pretty well.”