Hanover Township trustees to decide what's next after failed fire levy

A levy meant to support 98% of the Hanover Township Fire District budget failed in the Nov. 4 general election by 147 votes in unofficial results.

Administrator Bruce Henry said the Hanover Township Board of Trustees hasn’t yet had time to figure out how long it can sustain its emergency services on the funding it currently has, but it could be discussing its budget at upcoming meetings.

The levy would have been an additional tax that collected over $1.1 million annually for five years, amounting to $123 for each $100,000 of the appraised property value per year. 

Although the fire district already had a levy, it will expire at the end of this year and is based on valuations from 2016. The additional levy would have been placed at the same millage rate as before, but it would have collected an increased amount of funding, as it was based on newer valuations.

Henry said he thought the levy might have been voted down because the language was misunderstood or voters were unhappy with the property tax valuation increase, “but it was necessary in order to meet the growing expenses.”

“We have an older population,” Henry said. “People are having trouble meeting all their expenses, and the board of trustees understands that. But still, they have an obligation to provide the best service they can to the public, and we want to stay and keep that direction, we just have to figure out the next move.”

During an event hosted by the League of Women Voters Oxford in September, Henry told attendees 43% of the levy funds would have covered paying personnel for EMS and fire runs, while the rest would have been used to pay for the facility, equipment and fuel among other expenses.

He said the levy would have also been used to schedule the purchase of a new ambulance and to continue services. 

While the levy was for Hanover’s fire district specifically, services often crossover into surrounding townships through mutual aid, and all employees are currently part-time.

Right now, Henry said the township may be able to get through a “good” part of next year before it needs to cut expenses somewhere in its budget. But the levy’s failure led him to reconsider bringing on new personnel if a future revenue source for the fire department isn’t secured.

Without the levy collections, the fire district is looking at a funding gap of about $220,000 in previously expected funds each year. The gap is currently being covered by carryover funds and grants that Henry said he is unsure how long will last. 

Another funding source for the fire district is through insurance reimbursements, although he said these increase and decrease and aren’t guaranteed. Still, he said the fire district could collect anywhere from $100,000 to $150,000 depending on how many runs it makes in a year.

Henry said trustees will need to decide if they’ll introduce a new levy during the next election in May.

“It requires us to go back to the drawing board, so to speak, and figure out how to come up with perhaps a new levy, how to explain it to the public, how to get the public involved so there’s a better understanding of what services are to be provided,” he said.

The board of trustees will host its next meeting at 6 p.m. on Nov. 19 at 2595 Old Oxford Road in Hamilton.