MADISON TOWNSHIP — Madison Township’s final 2025 budget came out about a half million dollars higher than temporary appropriations.
Trustees approved the permanent appropriations at a special meeting March 26. Chair Dan Fletcher said he wasn’t worried about the gap between appropriations and $3.55 estimated revenue.
“We’ll stay on top of revenue coming in and what’s being spent,” he said.
“We’re not overspending by a million by any means. Our auditor is conservative in those estimates and we usually get much more than that,” Fletcher said.
Actual revenue for 2024 was $4,589,171. Fletcher said the estimated $3,549,563 revenue is likely to be closer to last year’s real revenue number.
The exact budget for the year is $4,650,706.90 — which is about $225,000 higher than last year’s permanent appropriations and $529,500 higher than the temporary appropriations for the year.
Compared to 2025 temporary appropriations, contracted services, repairs and maintenance, fuel cost and engineering services all increased.
“I asked our road superintendent Larry (Weirich) about the $10,000 for engineering services, which he said is basically contingency money if our county engineer can’t help with something,” Fletcher said. “Nine times out of ten, he will, but he’s not obligated to.”
The township also has about $4.2 million in its reserve/ carryover fund. Salaries and insurance costs are some of the largest appropriations in the budget.
The fire department and EMS funds for 2025 are budgeted for about $2.6 million.
Fire department could operate in deficit spending depending on levy replacement results
The department has a 5.5-mill replacement levy on May ballots. According to an Ohio Auditor of State’s performance audit, the fire department was projecting to start deficit spending in 2024.
Fire chief Ken Justus said a replacement levy could help secure additional funding for the financial health of the department.
“The fire department is still financially challenged,” Fletcher said. “We’re staging above water for now, but it won’t fare well if this levy doesn’t pass.”
Justus is planning to host a levy information session April 2 in the township hall to answer any questions residents have about the continuous levy replacement for the fire department.
NOPEC representative answers questions on township aggregate program
The trustees also discussed electric aggregation changes for residents automatically enrolled in the Northeast Ohio Public Energy Council (NOPEC) aggregate price for a 14-month contract.
NOPEC relationship manager Kyla Presto said residents can contact NOPEC’s customer care center 24/7 at 855-667-3201. For questions regarding your electric bill or service, contact Ohio Edison at 800-633-4766, or the local electric utility.
“You’re not locked in, you can always opt out or switch between different options,” Presto said.
“The NOPEC rate helps about 40% of your utility bill, which is the supply. The variable part is the utility’s labor and transmission costs.”
The fixed rate aggregate price will be 6.499 cents/ kWh under the NOPEC agreement through May 2026. NOPEC also offers a monthly variable price or 100% renewable energy options.
Trustees also said they would be interested in joining NOPEC’s gas aggregation program, which would need to go to the ballot box.
The Village of Lexington is a NOPEC member community for both electric and gas rates.
Township resident Tim Gough asked Presto about rental properties and whether electric bills would stay at the 14-month fixed rate if tenants move.
“If one resident is on the aggregate program and it switches, the new tenant would want to call and sign up if they want,” Presto said. “It would be the same if you buy a new house. They may go back on the standard choice offer for the utility, and we do refresh letters too to let people know.”
Finally at Wednesday’s special meeting, trustee Dan Fletcher said residents can call their insurance agents to ask if and when insurance services office (ISO) building code ratings will affect premium costs and credits.
According to a letter from risk assessment firm Verisk, class 1 on a 1-10 rating represents “excellent code enforcement and adoptions efforts.”
The Verisk letter said residential properties for one- and two-family homes showed a class 5 rating and industrial/ commercial properties showed a class 3 rating.
The township earned a 3/3Y public protection classification (PPC) last year, which is separate from ISO ratings. Madison Township homes could have different ratings depending on how close they are to a fire station or hydrant.