BATH TOWNSHIP, OH (WLIO) - After a 43-vote defeat in November, Bath Township will be trying again to get a levy passed for their fire department.
The township is going for a 2.5 mill levy. If passed it will bring in an additional $746,000 to expand staffing and help pay for the rising cost of operating expenses. For a home appraised at $100,000, the taxes would increase $88 a year. It's been over 20 years since the fire department has gotten any new money and if this levy passes, they will be able to increase their staffing level.
"Because the failure of the levy we have already made some cutbacks. We feel that it's important to have the fire department staffed with a minimum of four firefighters, but recently that has been more like two and we believe that is inadequate," said Chief Joseph Kitchen, Bath Fire Department. "Bath Township is a very unique community. Not only a large amount of residential but we also have a lot of business and industry, schools, and parks that depend on us. We feel like we need to provide the highest level of service to our residents and visitors."
Kitchen says they will be getting the word out about the importance of the levy before the primary election on March 19th.
January 17, 2024 Press Release from the Bath Township Fire Department: The Bath Township Board of Trustees have unanimously voted (Resolution # 12-5-23-6) to ask Bath Township residents to take a second look at the 2.5 mill levy increase which narrowly failed last November. The fire department came up short by only 43 votes and are hopeful that voters will reconsider this vital funding request.
The additional funding is needed to fill vacant positions which have been cut and allow the department to be staffed at a minimum of four Fire/EMS personnel twenty-four hours a day.
The department reminds voters that no new funding has been approved by township residents for twenty years. Also, the amount of funding has declined due to changes by the state legislature specific to business and industry. The fire department also cites the rising costs of wages, employee benefits, equipment, apparatus, and general operating expenses over the past two decades as reasons why the additional funding is a necessity.
The fire department has made deep cuts due to the November levy failure which Chief Joseph Kitchen says is unsustainable. “The fire department cannot provide the level of service which our residents have become accustomed to without additional funding. We are in desperate need of the community’s support at the ballot box on Tuesday, March 19, 2024,” said Chief Kitchen.
The Allen County Auditor estimates that the levy will collect $746,000 annually, at a rate not exceeding 2.5 mills for each $1 of taxable value, which amounts to $88 for each $100,000 of the county auditor's appraised value, for 5 years, commencing in 2024, first due in calendar year 2025.
