MANSFIELD — About one-third of the annual operating funds for Mansfield’s safety forces will be on the ballot May 7 when city voters are asked to again approve the renewal of a one-half percent income tax.
The four-year safety levy, first approved in 2007, generates about $7 million each year, all of which goes to the city’s police and fire departments.
If approved, the tax would continue for four more years, from Jan. 1, 2020, through Dec. 31, 2023.
“We can’t even imagine what it would look like to serve our citizens without this levy,” said Mansfield Mayor Tim Theaker.
In 2019, the city’s police and fire departments receive about $13.4 million from the general fund. The safety levy contributes about $7 million and the PRIDE levy, a 0.25 percent income tax approved in 2013, adds about $3.5 million. Fees charged for some fire runs contribute back to the fire budget an additional $1.6 million in cost recovery.
The PRIDE tax is different from the safety levy in that 50 percent of PRIDE funds go to police/fire and the rest is divided among parks and recreation, dilapidated building demolitions, and street lighting.
Theaker said the police department employs 82 sworn officers and 35 civilians. It’s budgeted for 83 for 2019 and the city is in the process of working to fill that position. The fire department employs 90 sworn firefighters and three civilians. The 911 Communications Center is currently budgeted for 17 total, which includes a supervisor and an operations supervisor.
“Since incorporating emergency medical dispatch into the services we provide our citizens, maintaining this staffing level is equally as critical at the police and fire levels,” Safety-Service Director Lori Cope said.
The tax had clear voter support on the May primary ballot in 2015, passing with 65 percent of the vote (1,254-675), according to the Richland County Board of Elections.
In 2011, the same issue was renewed with 67 percent voter approval (3,700-1,802).
In his annual report, Theaker said the Mansfield Police Department had 37,646 calls for service and arrested 4,978 people in 2018. The mayor said the fire department answered 10,800 calls for service in 2018, including 2,926 fire-related calls and 7,874 EMS calls.
Other issues around Richland County on the May 7 primary ballot:
— The Village of Plymouth has two levies, both of which seek new money. One is a one-mill continuing levy for road maintenance. The other is a 0.25-mill, five-year levy for current expenses.
— Cass Township voters are being asked to renew a one-mill, five-year levy for cemetery operation and maintenance.
— Jackson Township (excluding the City of Shelby) has a 0.5-mill, additional, continuing levy on the ballot for fire maintenance.
— Voters in Plymouth Township (excluding the City of Shelby and the Village of Plymouth) will vote on the renewal of a 1.5-mill, five-year levy for fire maintenance.
