Status of levy for fire, EMS gets changed

A 1-mill police levy also will be on the Nov. 8 ballot.
NEW SPRINGFIELD -- Springfield Township trustees have changed the new 1-mill fire levy to be placed on the November ballot from a continuing levy to a five-year measure.
They met in special session Monday and agreed by a split vote to place the limited levy on the Nov. 8 ballot. The levy would be for support of the fire and EMS services.
Trustee Chairman Jim Holleran said he and Trustee Shirley Heck agreed to make the change after firefighters told them in a meeting last week they would be better able to promote and support a limited levy instead of a permanent one the two trustees had voted in June to place on the ballot.
He added that County Auditor George Tablack also recommended changing the levy to a limited one.
Trustee Reed Metzka voted against the resolution, though at the June meeting he said he would support a limited, but not a continuing levy. But he said after Monday's meeting that he finds it hard to sell the public on the need for a fire levy when the other two trustees agreed at the August regular meeting to buy a second ambulance for the township. The township had previously not had a second ambulance but was using an old vehicle as one when they had two calls.
For the police
The township is also placing an additional 1-mill, five-year levy for police on the November ballot. That levy was unanimously agreed to at the June meeting. Voters defeated a 1-mill police levy last November.
One mill equals 10 cents for each $100 of property valuation.
In addition to the change in the length of the fire levy, trustees also had to rescind the June motions to place the levies on the November ballot and pass new resolutions in order to comply with a new election law passed in 2000. It requires separate resolutions to certify the levy to the county auditor and to actually place the levy on the ballot. Township Clerk Patti Gibson said county officials told her the June resolutions would probably be sufficient, but said she didn't want to take any chances.
Also Monday, trustees inspected and accepted the new $82,700 Braun 2005 ambulance bought at Don Bloom's Penncare in Warren. EMS Capt. Karen Philibin said the demo was bought under a state purchase agreement at a substantial savings and that she expects the vehicle to be in service by the weekend.