Serving Lucas, Ottawa, Sandusky and Wood Counties
Jerusalem Township trustees hosted the first of two forums for residents on Sept. 16 to discuss a pair of upcoming levies on the November ballot — a 6.5 mill renewal fire levy and a combination road/bridges levy.
The township won’t be re-adding the failed rec levy to the ballot, at least this year. They said there’s the potential of it coming back to the ballot next fall.
The next open forum on the road/bridges and fire levies will be Oct. 16 at 7 p.m. Residents can also attend the next regular trustee meeting on Oct. 14. The meetings are held at 9501 Jerusalem Road in the township complex.
The fire levy, which will be Issue No. 7 on the ballot, doesn’t contain any new tax money. It is a renewal that would generate approximately $432,000.
“It's going to keep us sustainable as we are for the next five years,” fire chief Tony Parasiliti said. “We're going to be able to sustain where we are at. We believe that being the stewards that we are with the funds, and mind you, when I say or point to me, it's ultimately always approved by the trustees. This is a partnership. They have to approve the expenditures. I have a limit of what I'm allowed to spend up to prior to, but after that, then the trustees make all the decisions.”
Parasiliti used his time to describe what services the department provides and answer questions from residents.
“The only time (our firefighters) get paid is when they're in training or when they respond to calls,” he said. “Or if they’re doing hourly work with the department, a lot of times we can do it much more economically using our own personnel, and it saves money.”
The department currently has 32 members, and Parasiliti said five are in training right now. Most of them have completed their fire training and are in EMT training, where Parasiliti said approximately 90 percent of their run volume goes to.
Jerusalem Township fire is also a water rescue department, where they cover 230 square miles of Lake Erie. He said that puts them on par with the city of Oregon in land-based coverage area.
“Now, that doesn't overtax us or anything, but with that anytime a department specializes with additional training, it takes more commitment from the members. It takes more time, and it does generate more cost,” Parasiliti said. “Toledo Fire and Jerusalem Township are the only organized water rescue departments in Lucas County for underwater diving. Most of our dives have been generated in ponds than they've ever been in the lake, but we have a lot of ponds.”
Parasiliti said the firefighter’s association also hosts fun events and fundraisers, and a lot of times, those monies raised help the department save money on certain costs. For example, a recent fundraiser brought in $5,000 for new dive suits, which are dry, so they can go in hazardous or cold water. The department also does below ice diving if necessary.
“I'm going to be perfectly honest,” he said. “There is an adrenaline rush with this job. There is. These people are typically willing to take risks and do something above what a lot of people won't do. We just ask that you will help and support us, and the biggest way you can is by supporting this levy.”
One question asked that if they have to do a run to Oak Harbor, does Oak Harbor pay the township for that. Parasiliti said no as the state of Ohio has a mutual aid agreement.
“We can go anywhere in the state of Ohio,” he said. “That is a standing agreement with every county, 88 counties. Now, if we were to send a medic unit there to Oak Harbor, let's say, and we do a transport from there to the hospital, than yes, we will get the revenue for that. We will bill that patient, and the township will get reimbursed for that.”
He also said that if someone who is not a resident comes into the township and has an accident, the township will bill them for EMS.
One thing Miller wanted to point out was in relation to a question about 911 consolidation and dispatching, which brought up proportional billing.
“If it's a fire, an EMS call, it will be billed to the fire department,” he said. “If it's a police call, so if you have a neighbor that calls on your dog or kids running around, guess what? It's charging the township, and that comes out of the general fund. Those are huge costs that we've not ever had to incur before that we will be seeing here going forward.”
He also noted that due to the support from residents in the past, the department has nice enough equipment to keep their ISO rating high, which in turn allows residents to have better rates on house insurance.
“It’s not as good as having a fire hydrant in front of your yard, but it definitely helps by having newer equipment in your fire department that's up to date,” Miller said. “It gives us a better ISO rating, which then helps lower the homeowner's insurance, and most insurance companies like that.”
The road/bridges levy, which will be Issue No. 8, is a renewal of 1 mill and an increase of 2 mills. It is expected to generate $280,000 per year and equates to a $90 annual cost for a resident per $100,000 valuation.
“(It) is for the maintenance of equipment, salaries, road mowing, road resurfacing, and some drainage,” trustee Beau Miller said. “It’s everything for our roads.”
As far as ditches, trustee Dave Bench said that the township gets around $60,000 per year from the county for cleaning ditches, but they aren’t able to do much else outside of that with the money.
In a related note, trustee Alex Lytten said that with the roads levy, the funds generated from this can only be used for the township’s roads.
“They can't be used for fire department expenditures or general expenses,” he said. “This levy is strictly for the roads, and they're strictly for township roads. They're not for county roads. They're not for state roads. They're not for private roads.”
Miller emphasized the importance of safe roads in the township.
“I've seen a lot of talk out there, a lot of people questioning tar and chip, and they don't like the tar,” he said. “They want asphalt. Well, to do a mile of asphalt costs $295,000 to $300,000. And we can tar and chip it for $30,000. And you get about five years (out of that), maybe a little bit more. It depends on the winters and how much we have to plow. This money will also pay for the salt that we have to pay for, the plow trucks, the road mowing, guard rail.”
Bench said the township’s salt costs about $15,000 per year, which has tended to be used more for ice in recent years.
Miller also did a breakdown of taxes on his shop and where those tax dollars go currently.
“My taxes on that building over there a year are $21,999 — let's call it $22,000,” he said. “Out of that, the township gets $2,000. So the taxes that we're getting, that we're paying on our houses, they're not staying — the majority of them are not staying in our township.
“If we pass this road and bridge levy, 100 percent of that money stays here for our residents, for our township to maintain. When you really look at things, you go on there and look up your own and see what you're actually paying and how much of your money is going into our township, it's very little.
“So that's something to think about, that if this levy passes, that money stays here. That's Jerusalem Township's money; it's our residents’ money. It stays here for their benefit. It's not going to Lucas County or anywhere else. I just wanted to show that to kind of put that in perspective that we're all paying very high taxes and it's horrible, but we have to continue to do business and to continue to keep our township road safe and our roads in good functioning order.”
Lytten said a resident asked him why they should care about a roads levy if they don’t live on a township road. He said 40 to 45 percent of the township’s residents live on a state or county road.
“We’re legally obligated to take care of the roads, and if this levy doesn't pass, we'll end up having to use money out of our small general funds to go towards road repairs, and that will take away from other projects around the township,” he said.
Another key cost that would help be covered by the levy is the county adding additional roads under the township’s responsibility, which means mowing, plowing, upkeep, etc.
Bench said the township had 19 miles of roads five years ago. They are now up to 34 because of the county’s additions.
“That's why we had to buy another truck, because we knew that we were getting these roads piled onto us,” he said. “We have two big trucks to handle these now.”
Lytten said that despite adding those roads, the county also isn’t obligated to give the township additional funding for their coverage. It is simply a transferring of responsibility.
A resident asked what would have to go if the levy doesn’t pass.
“The first thing would be probably the road mowing, and then you would be looking at when you have events, winter events, that you're going to maybe be salting intersections, maybe plowing some intersections,” Miller said. “You're not going to have the money to plow the roads like what we've seen in the past. Or if we do plow, there will be very, very little salt gets put on there. It'll probably only go down to one person, too, so it's going to take him longer to make this run. And he can only work so many hours.”
Lytten had some additional thoughts toward the end of the forum.
“Some people may think who wouldn't vote on this particular levy, but I'm not in their shoes, so I can't understand why they would vote a certain way,” he said. “But I still respect their decision, and I think we as trustees are fully prepared to make some tough decisions if this doesn't pass. I'm sure all of us respect the residents no matter which way they vote.”
