Madison Trustees Approve Fire Tax Replacement for November Ballot

Madison Township residents will be asked in November to approve a replacement for the fire department’s 5.5 mill operating fee.

Town trustees voted at their regular meeting Monday to approve the second of two resolutions needed to put the issue to a vote.

The resolution indicates that the fee, if approved, will generate $1.17 million annually, as certified by the county auditor based on the current total property assessment in the county of $213,398,040. The 5.5 million replacement fee would cost property owners $193 per $100,000 of a property’s assessed value by the county auditor.

The existing levy was first approved in 2000 and raises $680,000 a year to help pay the fire department’s general operating expenses. Eligible expenses listed include the provision and maintenance of firefighting apparatus, appliances, buildings or premises, water sources and water supplies, as well as the payment of permanent, part-time or volunteer firefighters and the purchase of ambulances and medical services used by firefighters. .

The actual tax collection rate has been reduced over the years to 3.1 million because, under state law, local governments or schools cannot collect more revenue than a property tax levy generates on its own. first year of charge or replacement, in addition to taxes on new construction. . Replacing the fee would bring the original collection fee back to 5.5 million and generate additional revenue.

Madison Fire Chief Ken Justus said at the May 20 trustee meeting that the department continues to face higher operating costs and that the State Auditor’s Office has recommended some type of additional revenue to ensure fire funds stay in the blue. He further highlighted that if the replacement rate request is approved, the existing rate ends and the new one begins, and if it is not approved, the current rate remains in effect.

Both the current rate and the replacement order are valid for a continuous period of time.

Trustees had no comment as they unanimously approved the charge request Monday night. The deadline to submit paperwork on the matter to the Richland County Board of Elections is Aug. 7 at 4 p.m.

Curators asked about the chip/seal work

During the second public comment period, trustees answered questions about previous chip/seal restoration work on county roads. Curator Dan Fletcher said seven years is the average lifespan of many of the projects, noting that one of the first projects on Ford Road has been around for quite some time.

“Ford Road was the first one we paved from 430 to where it changes to South Ford Road,” Fletcher said. “We paved it with a loan from OPWC (Ohio Public Works Commission) and they did it right at the end of the season — it was cool — and then we went back and chipped/sealed it and it’s not as odious.”

Fletcher was asked if he would still put together a chip/stamp program this year.

“I was waiting for some information on what materials to use and it is still in progress,” he said. “Someone might catch him. It’s not a lot of work.”

This article originally appeared in the Mansfield News Journal: Madison Township trustees place replacement tax on November ballot