February 16, 2006

By Lauren Heaton

At their meeting on Monday, Feb. 6, the Miami Township trustees agreed to place on the May 2 ballot a four-year 0.9-mill fire levy.

The levy, which if approved would be the fire department’s second property tax, is expected to generate an additional $112,400 for Miami Township Fire-Rescue and help the department implement its new strategic plan.

According to estimates provided by the Greene County auditor’s office, the levy would cost a homeowner nearly $28 per $100,000 of property valuation each year.

Fire Chief Colin Altman recommended that the department use $68,500 annually for non-capital improvements and $25,000 for capital projects. The remaining $19,000 would be used to supplement increases in staff and volunteer reimbursement rates, and to compensate for lost income due to the unintentional reduction of the levy passed by voters in November 2005.

The November levy, a five-year 3.8-mill property tax issue, is expected to generate $348,000 a year. It will cost a homeowner about $94 per $100,000 of property valuation.

The Township had intended to ask voters to approve a 3.8-mill levy replacement, which would have generated $443,000 annually.

But due to an error, the Township placed on the ballot a 3.8-mill levy renewal, which reduced the revenues for the fire department, which is funded exclusively by property taxes.

The fire levy that will appear on the May 2 ballot will supplement the levy passed in 2005 to support the department’s strategic plan, which the trustees approved last year.

The plan includes budget increases for stronger recruitment and retention efforts and for capital expenditures needed to maintain the department’s aging fleet of emergency vehicles.

The dual levies also would support the department’s rising operating costs, which include salaries, insurance, fuel, training, maintenance and supplies.

The trustees briefly considered approving a 0.8-mill levy that would generate $99,900 annually, but opted for the slightly higher millage rate because the supplemental levy is only a four-year levy, instead of the five-year levy originally intended by the board.

In other Township business:

• The trustees agreed to hire an Antioch student to fill in a part-time staff position for the next three months at a pay rate of $7.15 an hour. The student will fill in the gaps to support full-time employee Ted Wasserman.

• The trustees agreed to discontinue contracting with the Ohio Plan for the Township’s general insurance and liability coverage, and to sign with VFIS Ohio as its new insurance provider. Coverage for 2006–07 from VFIS will cost the Township $19,000 a year.

The trustees considered plans from two other providers, including an $18,000 contract with Burnham and Flower of Ohio, endorsed by the Ohio Township Association Risk Management Authority, and a $15,000 contract with the Ohio Plan. The trustees decided to switch carriers after encountering significant difficulty recovering the cost of the Fire-Rescue ambulance that was damaged in an accident last year.

• After meeting in executive session, the trustees agreed to increase Assistant Fire Chief Denny Powell’s hourly wage from $19.49 to $20.99. The increase was recommended by Altman.

• The trustees paid bills of $32,150 for the period beginning Jan. 16 and ending Feb. 6.

Contact: dchiddister@ysnews.com