The following information was pulled directly from the College Township website at:
The page regarding the fire levy will be updated as soon as possible with any new information. Please feel free to share this information with any township resident that may not know where to look.
College Township New 6.0 mill 2021 Levy Information FAQ & Answers
College Township Fire and EMS is a 24/7, 365 day Department and staffing the Department is a minimum of 2 employees on station backed up by volunteers. 2700 residents of College Township, 1370 daytime employees of Kenyon College and the Village of Gambier businesses, plus visitors are served by our Department every day. The highest number of our runs are to Kenyon, with the Village coming in second.
Our Department receives 400+ calls per year. College Township and the Village currently have a fire insurance rating of “4” (on a scale of 1-10) due to full-time staffing. Without a local station that rating will go to “9”. At “9” and other factors, our residents home owner’s insurance will increase significantly.
The funding for the College Township Fire Department has come to a critical point. Everyone needs to understand the impact this will have on the community if there is no Firehouse in College Township. Townships can only raise funds through property taxes, medical billing, contracts for service, and donations and contributions. 6 1/4 mills of property tax equals $140,500 per year; each mill of real estate tax in College Township produces $26,600 on 2019 values, while medical billing is estimated at $56,000 per year depending on the number of EMS runs. Kenyon contributes $140,000 per year and the total estimated revenue per year is approximately $340,000.
The Department has no debt, however, annual cost to test and maintain equipment is over $40,000, new fire trucks cost $400,000+ and new ambulances cost $200,000+. The Department has 20 part-time Fire and EMS employees backed up by 11 volunteers which are primarily Kenyon students. These part-time employees are paid $10, $11, and $12 according to their education level while line officers are paid $14 for Lieutenants and $15 for Captains. Since 24/7, 365 days equals 8760 hours for each position, the annual cost to operate and have employees on station is $500,000+, and the cost to train and equip each volunteer is $8850.
Questions and Answers (will continuously update):
Q: What is the salary for the College Township Fire Department Chief compared to the Chief of Mount Vernon Fire Department?
A: CTFD Chief Smith earns a salary of $67,600 compared to the Chief for Mount Vernon Fire Department’s salary of $73,199; as of September 25, 2020, according to salary.com
Q: Does the Chief of CTFD receive 100% of his retirement covered by College Township?
A: According to ORC 742.01 there is a requirement that full-time firefighters are to receive Ohio Police and Fire retirement. Based on the Chief’s salary of $67,600, College Township pays 24% and the Chief pays 12.25%.
Q: How does having Mount Vernon Fire Department take over College Township affect me as a resident?
A: ISO ratings are given to each fire department in regards to their response times for their residents. Currently, College Township enjoys a “4” rating and rapid response times. It is estimated that without the station located within the Village, College Township residents will change to an ISO rating of “9” and response times of 15+ minutes.
Q: How can I get a question answered on this website?
A: Please email questions that you would like to have published here to lking@collegetownshipfd.com
Q: How can I get information that is not provided here?
A: Please contact Trustee Doug McLarnan at 740-398-3165