This is not a vote against fire protection, EMS, or the dedicated men and women who provide these vital services. The question is how those services should be funded without placing another substantial burden on existing property owners.
Homeowners have already been hit with significantly higher property valuations that will increase your taxes. We cannot control that. We cannot control rapidly rising electricity costs, gasoline prices, or the increasing cost of everyday necessities.
But there is one additional cost we can control: this levy.
Please read the ballot language carefully. It calls this an “additional” tax levy. If approved, this “continuing” levy is estimated to generate approximately $7.255 million every year.
Looking ahead, for illustration purposes, that would amount to more than $72 million of taxpayer money in ten years. Thereafter, it’s ongoing, with no scheduled end. A continuing levy is a red flag. There are simply too many variables over a lifetime to make an open-ended tax commitment.
There is another important issue. It’s how our Township manages growth.
The Township, along with the Village, continues approving multiple residential subdivisions, including high-density subdivisions, without what I believe is adequate consideration of the roads, transportation, and other infrastructure needed to support that growth.
So here we are. The Township is placing a recently rejected Fire/EMS levy back on the ballot, with only a relatively small millage reduction from the May 2026 proposal.
Before we approve an 8.4 mill Fire/EMS tax, we should demand cooperation between the Village and the Township. The lack of cooperation is not in the best interest of residents. It’s long overdue for the County to take a leadership role in making cooperation happen. We have an existing fire department. Make it work, and make it equitable for all.
For now, this levy gives voters an opportunity to send a clear and unmistakable message. We simply cannot afford another large increase in our property taxes.
This is not anti-firefighter.
This is not anti-EMS.
This is pro-taxpayer.
Vote NO on the Batavia Township Fire/EMS levy. Enough is enough.
Bob Baillie
Batavia, Ohio