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Options weighed for township fire levy
(by Joseph Koziol Jr. - May 28, 2009)
Options weighed for township fire levy
By JOSEPH KOZIOL JR.
Chardon Township Trustees looked at the numbers last week as they prepared for the ballot in November with a new fire and rescue levy.
Trustee Michael Brown provided spreadsheets for combinations of length and millage for a new levy that would replace a 2-mill levy that is due to expire this year. He provided options on three- to five-year levies, ranging in amounts from 2.5 mills to 3 mills.
Trustees previously said they may favor a three-year levy because of the economic climate.
Mr. Brown said his numbers were based on a mill bringing in approximately $153,000 annually. He also included projections for ambulance billing.
Township Fiscal Officer Joan Windnagel said ambulance billing brought in $37,837 in 2007 and $38,099 in 2008.
Mr. Brown projected yearly revenue of $38,250 from ambulance billing in his calculations.
Using a traditional five-year scenario, he provided numbers for 3-mill and 2.75-mill levies. A 3-mill levy would bring in approximately $459,000 each year, while the 2.75-mill levy would raise $420,750 annually.
The 3-mill levy, he said, would provide the township with an approximately $56,426 surplus over the five-year period. "This scenario brings in a slight excess of revenue over expenditures," Mr. Brown said.
"It will allow for EMS billings to be invested in ISO-rating-reducing projects," he said. ISO is a fire-suppression-rating schedule.
The 2.75-mill levy would produce a shortfall of about $191,250, which would require using ambulance billing to meet the fire department contract.
"This scenario would produce revenues that would not meet the fire contract expenses and would require an average EMS billing yearly revenue equal to $38,250 to break even," he said.
Mr. Brown next looked at three-year levies of 2.75 mills and 2.5 mills.
The 2.75-mill levy for three years would require use of the ambulance billing funds to meet the contract obligations, he said. He said it would provide $420,750 in annual revenue, but would show a shortfall of $15,806 over the three-year period. He said it would require about $5,269 from ambulance billing each year to offset the shortage.
The 2.5-mill levy shows an even larger shortfall, he said. It would produce approximately $382,500 annually and a shortfall of about $130,556 over the three years. He said ambulance billing would have to produce $43,519 each year to overcome the shortfall.
Mr. Brown said he and representatives of the fire department as well as the City of Chardon and Claridon Township met in April to discuss fire-department expenses. He said the four entities plan to meet again at 7 p.m. June 10.
Mr. Brown said he plans to push for lower costs from the fire department to lessen the burden on residents.
One point of discussion, he said, is whether undeveloped land should count as heavily as improved property, because unimproved land is not a threat for fire as much as developed land.
The fire department determines a portion of its calculations based on property valuations in communities.
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