Election 2024: Tax Levies for Fire and EMS Services Face Voters in Rural Areas

Voters To Decide on Additional Funding for Rural Fire Protection and EMS Services

The 2024 General Election is five weeks away and while attention is paid to those races at the top of the ballot, down ballot issues are also important for our local communities. This publication is going to devote considerable time, effort and energy to these races and issues facing the various electorates throughout Miami County.

This year, voters in three of the county’s twelve townships are facing various tax measures for the provision of EMS and Fire Services. Rural communities are facing challenges as volunteer fire departments are challenged with fewer volunteers and aging equipment.

Even those townships and communities that are served by larger communities are facing constraints, as cities and villages are looking to recoup costs for servicing these rural areas. Municipalities have argued that for quite a few years, fire and EMS protection offered by cities have been largely subsidized by those communities and contractual agreements have not kept up with the increases in costs of covering these essential services.

Lost Creek Township

Lost Creek Township, on the eastern edge of the county, is largely served by the Casstown Volunteer Fire Department, but also receive considerable mutual aid from nearby Troy and Christiansburg Fire Departments as well. Voters will decide two tax measures for EMS and Fire services.

The first measure for voters will levy an additional 1.25 mills for five years for EMS services. The measure will generate approximately $71,000 per year. The measure will cost $44 for every $100,000 of appraised value. The second measure is a renewal of a 1.5 mill levy for Fire services for an additional five years. This measure will generate approximately $47,000 a year and will cost $28 for every $100,000 in assessed value.

Our readers may want to ask why a smaller additional levy will generate more than larger renewal levies. Generally, additional tax levies generate revenue based on the current assessed value of property. Renewal levies generate revenue based on the assessed value when the tax levy was first adopted. In effect, for a renewal levy, the property values are frozen, and the revenues generated are consistent over time.

Spring Creek and Washington Townships

Earlier this year, the City of Piqua was threatening to pull Fire and EMS Services from Spring Creek and Washington Townships is those townships weren’t willing to pay more for the services the city was provided to these rural townships. This publication talked about this issue earlier this year.

As part of the agreement that kept services going, both townships have put on the ballot this year new tax levies for Fire and EMS Services. Both townships are asking voters to approve 4.0 mill levies for Fire and EMS for each township. The Washington Township measure will generate approximately $222,000 per year and the Spring Creek Township measure will generate approximately $309.000 per year. Both tax levies will cost approximately $140 per year in $100,000 in assessed value.

Casstown

Casstown is the only village asking voters for funding for fire services on the ballot. The village is asking voters to approve a 1.65 mill renewal levy for the next five years. The measure will generate approximately $6,000 per year and cost $44 for every $100,000 in assessed value.

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