Dec. 28--Orange Township saved its firefighters and paramedics from layoffs for at least five months yesterday by using money meant for new snowplows and tree removal to cover their salaries.
Had the township's board of trustees not made that choice, about half of the township's firefighters could have lost their jobs.
"If we can appropriate a little less, put off major purchases for a while, we were able to bring (the township budget) down," said Gail Messmer, township administrator. "We're moving some funds from the general fund to cover a few months of salaries."
The township delivered 60-day notices of possible layoffs to 22 of its firefighters in November after voters rejected a property tax to pay for fire and medics. The township also asked that a new, lower levy be placed on the Feb. 5 ballot, but the Delaware County Board of Elections denied the request, saying it came after the deadline for the February election.
The deadline to submit issues for that election was 4 p.m. on Nov. 7; the township emailed its application a few minutes before that deadline and submitted a hard copy a few minutes after the deadline.
The township has asked the state Supreme Court to force the board of elections to put the new levy on the February ballot. The court has not made a ruling.
Dozens of firefighters from Columbus and other central Ohio communities packed a trustees meeting this month and applauded the decision to fight the elections board's decision.
Yesterday, the board of trustees agreed to supplement the fire department's budget with about $1.3 million from the township's general fund. The fire department is typically funded through property taxes. The department has about $1.5 million it will carry over from 2012 to 2013, said Joel Spitzer, Orange Township's fiscal officer. The carry-over money, combined with the supplement from the township's general fund, should keep the fire department afloat through May.
If the Supreme Court does not allow the new levy to be placed on the February ballot, the township could request that it be placed on a ballot in May.
Orange Township's levy would raise the tax rate for fire and emergency medical services by about 2 mills, to 7.5 mills, for three years, and generate about $6.8 million a year. It would cost a taxpayer about $230 per year per $100,000 of a property's taxable value. The levy that failed in November was for 7.8 mills.
@larenschield
Copyright 2012 - The Columbus Dispatch, Ohio
