Voters to decide fire/EMS tax levies

MINSTER - Jackson Township and Minster voters are being asked to approve nearly identical tax levies for shared fire/EMS services.

Both levies are 3 mills and are for three years, but they are separate elections.

"The village and the township are definitely partnering together, but they are fully separate levies, and the levies will not impact the same person twice. If you are a resident of the village of Minster, you will have the village of Minster levy, and if you are a resident of Jackson Township, you will have the Jackson Township levy to vote on," said Matt Purpus, spokesperson for the group Citizens for a Safe Minster.

The levy for Minster residents would raise just less than $290,000 each year, costing the owner of a home with an assessed $100,000 value, $105 annually. For Jackson Township residents, that levy would raise $101,215 each year, also costing the owner of a $100,000 home $105 annually.

This is the first time Minster and Jackson Township residents have been asked for a levy to support fire and EMS services. Purpus pointed out that in Auglaize County, six of the eight villages and 12 of the 14 townships have levies to support their fire and emergency medical services.

If the levies pass, the funding will be used for different purposes, and the money will not be spent on a 50/50 basis between fire and EMS, according to Purpus. FEMS funds will be used to encourage volunteerism and to offer incentive work "to take some of the burden off the current group of medical professionals who are part of the EMS currently." He noted that volunteerism has dropped over the past 10 years.

"This will help increase staff numbers to improve the already great services that we have," he said.

Fire department funding would go toward capital costs. On the list of needed items are replacement of outdated fire trucks and breathing apparatus units as well as turnout and safety gear for the firefighters.