The 0.5-mill would be in addition to an existing 1 mill for the fire department; the money would go to equipment and maintenance needs.
BEDFORD TOWNSHIP — The Bedford Township Board has approved putting a .5-mill, 10-year levy for the township’s fire department on the Aug. 7 ballot.
The amount works out to 50 cents per $1,000 taxable value and the money would be in addition to an existing 1 mill for the fire department.
This vote at Tuesday’s meeting was a continuation of a discussion that started in January. The decision this week was how to decide where the money would go.
Vehicles, equipment and maintenance were clearly the reason for the levy. The question is whether building needs such as a recent emergency roof repair also should be included.
But with the likelihood an equipment-only levy would be more acceptable to voters and that there may be alternative ways to handle building upgrades or repairs, that’s how the matter was settled. Equipment replacement and repairs is likely to eat up most, if not all, of the levy funding anyway.
The motion passed 6-0. Clerk Trudy Hershberger was absent because of illness.
Of the 13 vehicles assigned to the department, seven are 25 or older, according to the 2017 annual report that fire Chief Adam Massingill has filed. The 1992 ladder truck, for example, was out of service 35 days last year and broke down twice while fighting fires in 2017, including at the BridgePoint Church fire in March.
Also included in the 2017 annual report, the department responded to 2,694 calls last year. That’s a huge increase from the 1,921 just 10 years prior.