<div>Franklin Township will ask voters to approve a 14.66-mill fire levy when they head to the ballot box on Nov. 5.This levy would generate approximately $5.5 million annually for the fire department. It would cost homeowners $513 a year for each $100,000 of appraised property value.According to Franklin Township Fire Chief Robert Arnold, without the passage of this levy, one of the two fire stations will close.“If the community wants two stations operational, we need more funding,” said Arnold.Franklin Township has one fire station on Frank Road, where the township’s business office is located, and one station on Sullivant Avenue.“We’re not looking to add anything,” said Arnold. “We are looking to maintain the level of service the westside is used to.”The township’s fire department currently collects from three permanent levies and one temporary levy. The permanent levies include a 9.75-mill that was adopted in 1993, a 5-mill levy that was approved in 2004, and a 3.89-mill levy that was adopted in 2008. The five-year, 5.89-mill temporary levy was approved in 2020 and will expire next year.If voters approve the 14.66-mill levy in November, it will replace all the other levies.Arnold said with the current permanent and temporary levies, residents are paying a little over $300 a year. If the proposed levy is approved, residents would see an increase of about $200 a year.According to the fire chief, failure of the levy measure could have a “dramatic impact on safety.”He said one of the fire stations would likely close for good and this could impact emergency response times by one minute or more.Arnold said that in 2021, one of the township’s engines was out of service for the better part of the year. He said that this resulted in an additional 300 runs for the township’s other fire engine, and more than 2,000 runs for the nearby Columbus fire station on Sullivant Avenue.Currently, the township has 39 full-time employees who staff both the fire stations 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The chief said the closure of one station would likely mean the elimination of 16 positions.In addition to the funds collected from the permanent and temporary levies, the fire department has been using SAFER grant funding.The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) established the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant to provide funding directly to fire departments and volunteer firefighter interest organizations to help increase or maintain the number of trained, front-line firefighters in communities. In Franklin Township, the grant provided funding for 10 positions, including salaries and benefits, for three years.According to Arnold, the SAFER grant expires at the end of the year. He said the township has applied for a three-year extension but has yet to learn if that extra funding has been approved.Township officials plan to host community meetings to educate residents about the fire levy, though Arnold said there is nothing scheduled yet. He also said union firefighters plan to go door-to-door to pass out literature in the coming weeks.</div>

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Franklin Township Fire Department seeks levy this November

Franklin Township will ask voters to approve a 14.66-mill fire levy when they head to the ballot box on Nov. 5. This levy would generate approximately $5.5 million annually for the fire department. It would cost homeowners $513 a year for each $100,000 of appraised property value. According to Franklin...