Joshua Morrison/Mount Vernon News
College Township trustees, from left, Charles Woolison, Doug McLarnan, Barry Bowden, Fiscal Officer Martha Rambo and Chief Bill Smith. The trustees and fire personnel discussed the issues facing the department and took questions from the audience during the Thursday meeting at the Gambier fire station. [request]
GAMBIER — College Township Trustees said Thursday it will take additional money to keep the township fire department open and announced they are preparing to place a levy on the November ballot to raise that amount.
At a public meeting at the College Township Fire Department firehouse, trustees announced that they will be putting a 6-mill levy supporting the fire department on the November Presidential election ballot. The meeting was attended by about 25 residents from College Township and Gambier.
“Either we are a fire department or we are not,” he said.
The 6-mill levy would raise an estimated $156,000, according to numbers provided by McLarnan. The township currently has a 6.25-mill operating levy for the fire department which raised $154,416 in 2019, according to the CTFD’s revenue budget.
College Township needs at least $500,000 to stay solvent, according to McLarnan. Revenues in 2019 were $377,219.30. Currently, the two biggest revenue sources for the budget are the current tax levy and a contribution from Kenyon College. Kenyon’s contribution was $120,000 last year, according to the revenue budget, and is $140,000 this year. Kenyon’s contribution is voluntary.
Most of the rest of the revenues for CTFD come from billing for EMS services. Any medical emergency that results in patient transport to the hospital can be billed to the patient’s insurance.
McLarnan said other revenue sources open to the fire department include contracts to cover fire and EMS services for areas outside College Township, and seeking other contributions.
Trustees said the 6-mill levy may not be enough in the long term and they have already decided to look for savings in the budget. As part of those savings, Chief Bill Smith, who is currently full-time, will be reduced to more of a part-time chief position and be paid a monthly stipend lower than his full-time salary.
Bowden said Smith will be taking College Township’s road superintendent job. He will be paid through the township. The arrangement will save money and yet keep Smith available to the fire department, Bowden said.
Bowden said the stipend amount has not been settled, but it will be paid “over and above” Smith’s salary as a road superintendent. Smith’s current salary, as full-time chief, is $67,600.
The duties of road superintendent include plowing snow, mowing roadsides and other road maintenance, Bowden said.
McLarnan said a further revenue source would be a contract with Gambier, but the village hasn’t “stepped up.” That didn’t sit well with several members of the Gambier village council present at the meeting, who fired back that the village does contribute to the fire department through property taxes.
Ian Smith, Kenyon vice president for facilities, planning and sustainability, also attended the meeting. He said the fire department “is very important to the college” and Kenyon “is going to be there as a strong participating partner in this process.”