not Update: Voters approved the Truro Township Fire Levy Help up for Truro Township hit six-year mark and then some, said Trustee Patrick Mahaffey. Aside from big-ticket items like a new engine, passing the levy will help maintain staffing levels and make sure technology and equipment stays current. “We look long range, to see by Kelley Youman This fall Truro Township voters will be asked to show their support for the fire department at the polls. A new, 4-mill permanent fire levy is on the Nov. 3 general election ballot. If approved, the levy is expected to cost property owners about $140 annually per every $100,000 in valuation, township officials said. Truro Township trustees in June voted unanimously to put the issue before voters. The levy is estimated to generate an additional $1.9 million for the department annually, said fire Chief Jeff Sharps. “It would allow us to maintain our current levels of service and response times and also plan for big-ticket items” like a new engine, Sharps said. “Our newest fire engine right now is a 2009. The other is a 2007 (model year) and the oldest is 2002. We are in that cycle where it’s time to replace an engine. The fire engine just doesn’t respond on fire runs, but it also responds on (emergency medic) runs.” Reynoldsburg Magazine • Fall, 2020 The price tag on a new engine is expected to cost around $800,000, Sharps said. The department has about 60 employees and an annual budget of $7.8 million. In 2019, TTFD responded to 7,580 calls for service and completed more than 1,100 fire inspections, according to department statistics. Firefighter/paramedics serve Truro Township, the village of Brice and the city of Reynoldsburg from two fire stations: Station 161, 6900 E. Main St., and Station 162 at 6305 E. Livingston Ave. The township used money generated from a 2.5-mill general fund levy approved in 2016 to help pay for a new, $3.9 million replacement for Station 161. The new 16,471-squarefoot firehouse opened in July, replacing an outdated 1960s-era department store building that was retrofitted to serve as a firehouse. Voters last approved a dedicated fire levy in 2012. At that time, the department promised to stretch funding for at least six years. what we think we are going to need for the long term, what can we do to manage our budget for the next eight to 10 years? Nobody likes to have their tax bill go up, so we’re very cognizant of that,” Mahaffey said. “We’re very cognizant of the fact that the taxpayer is footing the bill – my taxes go up just like everybody else’s – so I try to look at it from a citizen’s perspective, as well as from a trustee’s perspective.” Mahaffey said he will be encouraging neighbors and community member to support the levy this fall. “Every four years you go to the ballot to elect somebody and you’ve elected me five times,” he said. “Trust me when I tell you that this is not some frivolous thing that we’re doing. It’s something that we need, that has to do with the safety of the community, and the safety of the staff.” Kelley Youman is a freeelance writer in the Reynoldsburg area. 9 vote
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