MADISON TOWNSHIP — Madison Township Trustee Tom Brandt said Monday evening putting two new levies on the ballot for roads and the fire department will be met by some opposition.
But the bottom line, in the opinion of Brandt and fellow trustees Dan Fletcher and Tom Craft, is fairly simple.
They said new money is needed in a township of 11,000-plus people that hasn’t seen additional funding for those areas in years.
“If we don’t try, we will never know,” Brandt said. “I’ve had a lot of people in the community say if we request a road levy, they will support it.”
Fletcher added, “If we don’t try, we’ll never know and there’s always try again (if the levy requests fail).”
Trustees are asking in November that township voters approve additional five-year property tax levies of 4 mills for roads and 2.5 mills for the fire department.
The road levy, which would be used in a resurfacing program for the township’s 70 miles of roads, would generate $868,345 each year, according to the Richland County Auditor’s Office. It would cost the owner of a $100,000 home about $140 annually.
The fire levy, which would fund fire department operations, will generate $542,715 each year, according to the auditor’s office. It would cost the owner of a $100,000 home about $88 annually.
The last new money approved for township roads was in 2011, according to trustees, who said new money for the fire department was last approved by voters in 2019. That fire levy was for equipment, according to trustees.
The levy attempts were approved on July 20 during a board of trustees meeting. Discussion on the tax requests came Monday evening after trustees met in special session to make a budget correction.
Fletcher said costs in each area have risen in recent years, especially in terms of road resurfacing. He said the township will resurface 2.927 miles in 2026 for $198,097, an average cost of $67,679 per mile.
He said new funds, if the levy is approved, will allow the township to repave seven miles of roads and would set the stage for all 70 miles to be resurfaced in a 10-year span before the cycle starts again.
And if it fails?
“Well, there’s not going to be as much paving done in the township,” Fletcher said.
The other levy would fund operations in the fire department, which has an acting chief, an administrative assistant, 15 full-time firefighters and around 13 part-time firefighters. Fletcher said the number of part-time firefighters fluctuates and could be as high as 25.
“Whatever the fire department needs, that’ll pay for it,” Fletcher said.
In terms of population, Madison Township is the second-largest governmental entity in Richland County, behind the city of Mansfield. But it lacks a significant industrial base that often generates larger property taxes.
“We all know Madison Township is financially challenged,” Fletcher said. “That’s the only way I can say it.
“We’ll get some (additional) property tax from the new Buc-ee’s (which may open in 2028). We will get some inside millage, but we won’t get road levy money or fire levy money.
“Our biggest industrial base is right out there on Ashland Road,” he said.
