City to seek fire levy

Replacement issue would help replace 12 vehicles in five years

Mentor voters will get to decide whether to boost the fire department’s budget.

City Council voted this week to officially place a 1.5-mill replacement levy on the Nov. 7 ballot. The existing levy is a five-year renewal.

“Due to the increase in service demands and the cost of apparatus, we feel that we have to do a replacement levy,” Fire Chief Robert Searles said.

“The apparatus costs in the fire department have more than doubled since the levy was first passed in 1983. We project several apparatus replacement needs over the next 10 years. That’s not to mention buildings, wages and other costs.”

The chief initially hopes to replace a 1993 fire truck with more than 132,000 miles on it. Next, he would focus on replenishing ambulances.

“Our squads are very busy,” he said. “It’s not uncommon to have a 30-call day for our EMS providers.”

The department’s run volume is nearly 8,000 calls annually, up from about 2,900 when the levy first began.

Within the next five years, he anticipates needing to replace 12 vehicles, at an estimated cost of $5 million.

“That would go a long way to providing us the equipment and apparatus we need to preserve our community’s ISO fire protection rating, but more importantly, it provides us the ability to continue to provide residents with the public safety service that they deserve,” Searles said.

Last month, Council approved asking the Lake County Auditor’s Office to certify the total tax valuation of the subdivision and the dollar amount of annual revenue that would be generated by the replacement.

In 1983, the existing levy provided about onethird of the department’s budget. Now it accounts for roughly 10 percent.

The renewal is anticipated to generate $1.62 million this year. A replacement levy would yield about $2.15 million annually.

It would result in an increased cost to homeowners of $30 annually per $100,000 in property valuation. Property owners currently pay $21.22 per $100,000 in property valuation.

City Manager Ken Filipiak noted the heavy toll that the increasing number of calls takes on the department’s equipment.

“We believe very strongly in maintaining the highest quality edge that we can have by providing the best available technology to our firefighters and paramedics,” he said. The department employs 74 full-timers and 38 part-timers. Its total budget for 2017 is estimated at $11.1 million.

The renewal levy last was approved in 2013 by nearly 80 percent of voters.