MADISON TWP, Ohio — Madison Township voters will decide in November whether to renew a five-year fire levy that the township's fire department says helps maintain its current level of staffing and operations.
The levy was approved by voters in 2022 at 3 mills for five years. The township's resolution said the levy would support the fire department and related costs and would apply to tax years 2022 through 2026.
The debate over the renewal comes as the fire department says it is relying more heavily on paid part-time firefighters while volunteer participation has declined.
WATCH: Madison Township's fire department says its volunteer ranks are shrinking as calls increase.
Fewer volunteers, more calls
Fire Chief Kent Hall said the department once had significantly more volunteers responding to calls.
“10 years ago, I probably had 20 volunteers at each station, and we would have multiple volunteers show up on runs,” Hall said.
Hall said the department now has about 10 volunteers on its active roster, with only a handful regularly responding to calls.
The department also is handling more calls.
Lt. Justin Carroll said Madison Township responded to 719 calls through August 2026, compared with 630 during the same period in 2025, a 14% increase.
Hall said about 90% of the department's calls are handled by part-time staff.
“When you have personnel at the station, your response time is cut in half,” Hall said.
Carroll said the department's response time has dropped from nearly nine minutes to just over seven minutes over the past three years, which he attributed to staffing and equipment.
What the levy pays for
Hall said the levy accounts for about 60% of the fire department's operating budget.
“This levy is over half of my budget,” Hall said. “If that levy doesn't pass, what we're going to have to cut is personnel.”
The department says the levy is a renewal, rather than a request for a new levy. That means taxpayers would continue paying the same amount for this specific levy rather than adding a new levy on top of it.
The official 2022 township resolution set the levy at a rate not exceeding three mills for each dollar of valuation and specified the five-year collection period.
Critics question the cost
Robert Ward, a former Madison Township trustee and volunteer fire lieutenant, opposes the levy. Ward said the township's previous volunteer model provided enough staffing when he was with the department.
“There was never a single, not one call in the 10 years that we had a lack of manpower,” Ward said.
Ward also questions whether the township can afford its current fire staffing model.
“We've got 8,500 people. It's a rural community. We don't have the tax base to support this,” Ward said.
Ward believes the township should return to relying more heavily on volunteers.
“Wants and needs are two different things. Would I want a full-time fire department? Sure. Do we need a full-time fire department? Absolutely not,” Ward said.
Hall disagrees, saying the department's current call volume and declining volunteer participation make paid staffing necessary to maintain coverage.
What about the new firehouse?
The fire levy debate also comes as Madison Township works toward a new fire station.
Hall said plans for a new building have been in the works for more than a decade. He said the 2022 levy helped the department move forward with architectural and planning work, but construction of the new building is being funded separately.
"When we passed the levy in 2022, we then, with the trustees, we went and got the architect firm; we got the building plans done. We're in the final stages of building this new building," Hall said. “The new building is being funded by the general fund. That has nothing to do with our fire levy."
Hall said the levy is intended to maintain the department's current operating level, including staffing and equipment.
Madison Township voters will decide in November whether to renew the fire levy for another five years.
