Renew levy for LaGrange Township Fire Department

Voters served by the LaGrange Township Fire Department would be well-served to support a replacement levy that pays for much of the department's operations. The Fire Department has been feeling the pinch of inflation and needs some additional money, township Fiscal Officer Kathy Poling told us. "Inflation doesn't stop with just the public," she said. "We feel it, too." The 3.5-mill replacement levy would bring in around $830,000 annually compared to around $738,000 if it were a straight renewal, Poling said. That's an additional $92,000 that would help pay for staffing, equipment and vehicles that the department's firefighters need to respond to fire and medical emergency calls in the township and the village of LaGrange. "Ninety-two thousand in this day and age is not a lot of money," Poling said. That's true, and the additional money would help offset the Fire Department's rising costs. The department's total budget is a little less than $1.2 million annually, she said. The replacement levy, identified as Issue 7 on the November ballot, shouldn't be a controversial change given the increased safety it would help deliver to residents for the five years it would be in effect. It's also a relief that there's no bickering between the township and the village like there was in 2018, when the levy was last replaced. Five years ago, the two political subdivisions were in the middle of a messy dispute over whether the village would secede from the township. The disagreement centered on inside millage — essentially an unvoted property tax — and cemetery maintenance, among other issues. Unfortunately, the Fire Department was caught in the crossfire. Because of how the Fire Department is set up, had the township and village gone their separate ways it was unclear who would have provided fire protection to the village. It also was unclear how the department's assets would have been divvied up. At the time, we recommended voters reject the replacement levy, not because we didn't believe it was needed, but because we were concerned about injecting even more money into the dispute. (There also would have been additional chances to pass a replacement levy before it expired.) Fortunately, the two sides managed to settle their differences and the village remained part of the township. Voters approved the replacement levy. With the additional money it brought in, the Fire Department expanded its services and purchased needed vehicles and equipment. Township Trustee Gary Burnett and LaGrange Mayor Gary Kincannon told us that the dispute was in the past, and both supported Issue 7, which they described as necessary. "We're going to have to buy a couple new vehicles in the next few years," Burnett said. Fire trucks, rescue vehicles and ambulances are expensive, and it can take years for them to be delivered once they're ordered. The owner of a home valued at $100,000 pays $104.17 per year under the existing levy, according to Lorain County Auditor Craig Snodgrass' office. That would increase by $18.83 were Issue 7 to pass, bringing the total cost to $123. It's a reasonable increase to keep the department's fire trucks and ambulances staffed and rolling.