by Eric Marotta
Editor
Macedonia " City officials say firefighters' grassroots levy campaigning helped avoid another
trip to the polls in November, after voters voted nearly
two-to-one Aug. 5 to approve Issue 4.
Voters had rejected an identical issue last November, and
since the current levy expires at the end of the year,
officials speculated the city would have to return to the
polls if Issue 4 had failed.
Issue 4, which will replace the city's current 0.8-mill
fire protection levy with a 1-mill tax, was approved by
voters 879 to 476, according to final, but
unofficial results from the Summit County Board of
Elections.
City officials say the five-year measure's $330,000 in
annual revenue will be used to hire three full-time and six
part-time firefighters to cover a fifth full-time slot on
the department's three rotating 24-hour shifts.
The measure will increase the tax from $11 to $61 per year
on a $200,000 home. The existing levy contributed about
$105,000 to the department's $1.56 million budget.
"I'd like to thank the voters for supporting the
firefighters. The firefighters are doing a job they love,"
said Fire Chief Tim Black. "The money will be well-used,
and we will watch every dime we have."
Black said having a fifth firefighter on duty will allow
the department to improve response times. He said that
emergencies have more frequently been occurring at the same
time, which means off-duty members must be called to the
fire house to respond. If off-duty members are not
available, the city has to call other fire departments for
mutual aid.
He said response times in such cases could be
eight minutes or more.
"The voters are ultimately responsible for the service we
provide," Black said, adding the levy's passage ensures
service will not deteriorate.
Mayor Don Kuchta also thanked residents for their support
and said the levy was crucial for the city to continue
providing quality protection.
"I feel that our fire department and our personnel should
take care of the people in Macedonia," Kuchta said.
Black said that after last November's levy attempt failed,
department members made a special effort to inform citizens
of the fire department's situation.
In July, groups of around 10 firefighters and department
supporters canvassed neighborhoods where the November levy
did not do well.
Black, who estimated about two-thirds of the city's
neighborhoods were visited, said residents had a lot of
questions.
Firefighters also distributed fliers to every home in the
city.
"We had 250 signs and we were still getting requests for
signs," he added.
Late in the afternoon Aug. 5, Black said reports from
department members at the city's three polling locations
made him feel the department's efforts may have succeeded.
"They're telling us that they're getting a lot of positive
comments from the residents," he said. "We think there's a
lot of voters, which is good. There's a lot of people
voting, which is great."
Maryjean Donofrio, director of the Summit County Board of
Elections, said Aug. 5 preliminary reports indicated
turnout was about half of that of a general election.
"Everything has gone relatively smoothly. We haven't had
any major problems," she said.
E-mail: emarotta@recordpub.com
Phone: 330-688-0088 ext. 3171