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Fire Tax Levy Info Page
ALL THREE FIRE/RESCUE LEVIES PASSED
for residents of the City of Chardon, Chardon Twp,
& Claridon Twp., Ohio
Thanks
to all who voted for the levies in our three coverage jurisdictions:
WHAT NOW?
Passage of these
levies was crucial to continuing the high level of service that our residents
expect. Each community
named above supplies tax monies that are used by the Chardon Volunteer Fire
Department, Inc. for daily operations (personnel salaries), vehicle gas, vehicle
maintenance, station supplies, station rent (which we rent from the City of
Chardon), etc. These tax revenues also pay for training of personnel,
acquisition of new equipment (trucks, ladders, fans, jaws of life, etc).
The current tax
structure equates to the following tax assessment per $100,000 of property
value:
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City of
Chardon $89.43 per year or $7.45 per month |
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Chardon
Twp. $46.92 per year or $3.91 per month |
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Claridon
Twp. $64.72 per year or $5.39 per month |
DOES THE FIRE
DEPARTMENT RECEIVE REVENUES FROM OTHER SOURCES?:
Yes, in 2003, the
fire department aggressively sought out federal grant monies through the FIRE
ACT program. We received approximately $196,000 in grant monies, which
were used solely to purchase new turnout gear (fire coats, pants, helmets), as
well as new Self-Contained-Breathing-Appartus (airpacks), with integrated
personal alarms. EMS grants equating to approximately $7,000 were received
last year, and used exclusively for training of new paramedics, and purchase of
capital EMS equipment.
DID THE FIRE
DEPARTMENT ACHIEVE IT'S GOALS FROM THE LAST TAX PERIOD?:
In fact, we
exceeded them! We upgraded staffing from 2 people on-duty 24 hours per day
to 4 staff members on 24 hours per day. We improved water availability in
all of our communities, with new hydrants in the City of Chardon, and several
new "dry hydrants" in Chardon & Claridon Townships. We
lowered our ISO (Insurance Services Organization)
rating, which lowered
insurance costs for residential and industrial customers. We replaced
several pieces of apparatus and updated our computer systems. Additionally, we
purchased two sets of hydraulic rescue tools (jaws of life), 2 new heart
monitor/defibrillators, and multiple gas detection devices. Purchases of
technical rope rescue equipment, a thermal imaging camera, a
porta-tank (portable water tank for drafting), and new roof saws were also made.
WHAT NEW GOALS WILL THE DEPARTMENT HAVE FOR THIS NEW LEVY PERIOD?:
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Station staffing will be increased: 5
on duty from 6am-6pm, 4 on-duty from 6pm-6am |
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Hiring of more full-time firefighter/paramedics:
1 in 2005, 1 in 2006, 1 in 2007. Bringing the full time staff to 6
personnel, supplemented with over 50 part-time firemedics. |
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Replacement of an old 1984 fire engine - 2006 |
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Replacement of a rescue squad - 2007 |
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Continuation of essential training upgrades for
personnel |
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Continuation of computer and software upgrades for
daily operations and mapping capabilities |
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Upgrading radios, pagers, and communications
capabilities to maintain personnel safety and efficient response. |
HOW DOES OUR SERVICE COMPARE WITH OTHER COMMUNITIES?:
You might be surprised to learn that when you compare
the number of calls with each area fire department's budget, our residents are
paying the least! Here is a breakdown:
Fire
Department Number of
Calls Budget
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Chardon
FD
1338
$747.000 |
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Concord
FD
1425
$1,800,000 |
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Munson
FD
1300
$850,000 |
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Kirtland
FD
1081
$1,024,000 |
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Chester
FD
800
$894,000 |
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Bainbridge
1200
$1,200,000 |
We are
confident with the passage of these levies that our residents are happy with the level of service provided
by the Chardon Volunteer Fire Department. You can find out more
about how your tax money is used to protect the community by calling Chief Larry
Gaspar at 440-285-4665. Lastly, please click on the fire
chief's corner frequently for updates.
Thank you for your
support on November 2nd.
(This
webpage was sponsored and approved by the Fire and Ambulance Levy Committee,
Mike Homovec-Tresurer, 427 North Hambden St., Chardon, Ohio 44024.
Did you change your battery in
your smoke detector when you changed your clock?
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