MOUNT VERNON — Voters in Howard Township will see a road maintenance levy, and Monroe Township voters will see a fire/EMS levy on their Nov. 4 ballot. Liberty Township voters will see both.
Of the four levies, one is new, one is a renewal, and one is a renewal plus an increase. The fourth is a replacement plus an increase.
Liberty Township
Township trustees are asking voters to approve a new 1.1-mill, four-year road maintenance levy. The levy will generate $111,800 and equates to $39 for every $100,000 of the county auditor’s appraised value.
“The biggest piece of that will be for dust pads,” Trustee Joe Spurgeon said of the levy revenue. “A lot of our residents have asked about dust control.”
The township has 112 houses that would benefit from a dust pad. Spurgeon said that if the levy passes, the township plans to install 56 in the first year and 56 in the second year.
The township will maintain the pads every other year.
Spurgeon said the trustees will use any remaining funds for regular road maintenance and supplies such as brine.
Liberty Township citizens will also vote on a 4.4-mill renewal and 0.1-mill increase for fire and EMS services. The total of 4.5 mills will generate $361,900 annually. Property owners will pay $158 per $100,000 of appraised value.
The four-year levy takes effect in 2026 and is first payable in 2027.
Howard Township
Howard Township trustees are asking voters to renew a four-year, 1-mill levy for road maintenance. That equates to $35 for each $100,000 in appraised value.
The annual estimated revenue is $190,100.Trustee Clarence Griffith said the township will use the money mainly for culverts and road maintenance.
The township spends between $450,000 and $500,000 a year on its roadways. This year, the trustees replaced three culverts at a cost of nearly $80,000.
Griffith said the township started a road maintenance program 12 years ago.
“We have a five-year program where we switch between blacktop and chip seal,” he said. “We have 60 miles of road, and we try to do four or five miles every year.”
In addition to maintaining road surfaces, Griffith said the township is trimming trees back to homeowners’ property lines.
“That helps road maintenance because it lets the roads dry out,” he explained.
The levy takes effect in 2026 and is first payable in 2027.
Monroe Township
Monroe Township has a property tax replacement and increase levy on the Nov. 4 ballot for fire and EMS services.
The replacement is 2 mills, and the increase is 3 mills. The total of 5 mills equates to $175 per $100,000 of appraised value and is expected to generate $540,800.
Chief Aaron Halcomb said the run volumes are increasing every year. The 99 runs in 2019 are now around 320.
Monroe went to full-time coverage in June and is currently staffed with two people 24/7.
“I’d like to be able to start staffing two people for 12 hours and two people for 24 hours,” Halcomb said. “Eventually I’d like to transition to four people at 24 hours.”
Increased and 24-hour staffing levels improve response times. They also improve the department’s ISO rating, which means homeowners pay lower insurance premiums.
Rising costs for everything from insurance to turnout gear and fuel are another reason for the additional millage.
The chief also noted that grants have not kept pace with rising costs. Even when the department receives a grant, it has a larger cost-share.
Halcomb said the department still has catching up to do from when the station was College-Monroe. Additionally, he is preparing for the future since the department will not receive the increased funding until 2027.
Click here for a detailed analysis of costs and staffing.