Special work session held by Westfield Township to discuss November levy

WESTFIELD TWP. — Residents voiced their viewpoints on a fire district levy for Westfield Township during a special work session on Wednesday. Westfield township trustees held the session at the township hall, 6699 Buffham Road, to get an insight into township and village residents' opinions and ideas on the proposed levy. Township zoning member Terri Grimm said the work session was meant as an educational meeting for the public and the township officials. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the Westfield Fire and Rescue District and the levy that is going on the November ballot. Grimm acknowledged the prior two levies had failed, it was on the township, and they need to do better. "We appreciate your open and honest feedback," she said. "Going forward we are trying to build as much transparency as we can about the next levy that is coming up. We know that we need to give you more information so that way you are better informed to make your own decision." Township Trustee Craig Horner said there have been no decisions made on what the levy will be. "We are just trying to get a feel for what we are looking at," he said. "We are trying to find out if there is a millage number that the township residents are looking for or is it a time limit. There was no limit on the first one, the last one was five years. Are we looking at three years or are we looking at 2.5 mills?" Township Trustee Michael Schmidt said Westfield Township has a low levy millage compared to surrounding communities and municipalities. "At the point in time that the fire district, in 2012, was formed it was a 2.5-mill levy that was passed on the ballot," he said. "There has not been any new money since 2012. It gets complicated with how levies work, even though it's a millage amount the dollars are constant. So, if you've lived in this township since 2012 you started paying at 2.5 mills. Currently, you are paying at the rate of 1.9 mills." Township Fiscal Officer Melissa Kurtz said the budget for the fire district is lower than 2023, and the township budget is not a part of the fire district. "I think that a lot of people have had the misconception in the past that the fire district falls under the township budget, which is not the case," she said. "The fire district operates on a separate budget from the township and has separate revenue." The fire district's budget for 2024 is $697,449, which is lower than 2023's budget by about $5,000. Kurtz said that a majority of the fund is rollover money, grants, capital project money, any EMS-related money received for running calls, and money from the village of Westfield Center for the cost of coverage. With the tight budget, township Trustee Kent Patterson said the levy would be used for the operation of the fire department and funds for future planning. With the largest project being the possible purchase of vehicles, Patterson said Jeff Hall, the Westfield Township fire chief, has created plans and shared them with the trustees about downsizing some vehicles while updating others. "Our call volume, just like everybody else, is increasing," Hall said. "As the population ages we are seeing more geriatric type calls. Fires are the least of our runs, but we obviously still have to protect the residents and visitors of the district." Hall said he is always looking for more grants. A prior chief projected costs of vehicles as part of a five-year plan, but Hall said the costs were lower than what is currently possible. He said the cost of vehicles has skyrocketed, with long lead times. Residents voiced their concerns about the transparency and lack of communication between township officials and residents. The idea of skewed numbers was mentioned by several with costs of items not being as accurate as possible. Village Council member Rick Robbs said trustees need to work on figuring out exactly what the fire district needs from the levy to be able to do what it needs to. He said having meetings is a great way to release this information and the more meetings there are, the better. Robbs said that the village always supports the fire department. Attendees were encouraged to leave questions and comments on notes left for the trustees to look through. There has not been a decision on when the next work session will be, but township officials agreed with residents about transparency and would like to hear more from the communities and their residents on what they think would be best. The trustees want to educate the community as much as possible on the information regarding the levy. "The one responsibility of government above all others, whether it's the federal government, state or local, is to provide a protective service for their citizens," Patterson said. "That's our role here. It's really very critical that we provide you the best service that we can, and we intend to do that." Contact reporter Patrick Rhonemus at (330) 721–4050 or prhonemus@medina-gazette.com.