The fire department levy, what does it do?
By Sylvia Lorson
With Election Day less than a month away, voters should be aware of more than just the presidential race. Residents should know about the levies that they will be seeing on the ballots, too. It is especially important for first-time voters to know how these levies operate so they can make an informed decision.
A levy is a tax assessed to property owners based on the value of their homes. It is the primary way of raising money for public services like public schools, emergency services, street construction or other similar community needs.
This year on the Portage County ballot, there is a levy up for renewal for the Kent Fire Department, specifically the fire station west of the Erie Railroad.
This station covers an area including a high school, a junior high, three elementary schools, a nursing home and several neighborhoods.
Fire Chief John Tosko says that this levy has been around for more than 20 years, long before he even became chief.
“[The levy] helps fund the operation of that second station,” said Tosko. “[It] doesn’t offer all the funding but it helps fund three positions over there, and gives us the ability to keep that station open and operating to serve the residents on the west side of Kent.”
Without the funding provided by a levy renewal, the station would have to make cuts to save money.
“We’d have to reevaluate where we’re going to get the added money,” said Tosko. “Obviously we’d have to cut out programs. We are planning on doing a renovation at that station- put a new roof on it and some added storage as well. So that particular project would, I’m sure, be canceled or put on hold until we find the funding for it. And we’d have to move money around to pay for salaries…”
The ballot itself explains the amount of money that property owners would be paying: “rate not exceeding 0.73 mill for each one dollar of valuation, which amounts to 7.3 cents for each one hundred dollars of valuation, for 5 years, commencing in 2021, first due in calendar year 2022.”
What this means simply is that if someone owns a property of $100,000, they would pay $73 annually.
“It’s a really good use of taxpayer money to keep that station open,” said Tosko. “That station serves…about half the city and it serves the northern part of Franklin Township/Twin Lakes area. So it is money well spent keeping EMS and fire in service and keeping people safe.”
To vote to renew the levy would keep this vital fire department open and properly functioning. Which would, in turn, would help keep the west side of Kent safe.
Knowing all of this information could help first-time voters make their decision on Election Day.