SHEFFIELD TOWNSHIP – The Sheffield Township trustees and Fire Chief Rob Ocasio are doing what they can to return the fire department to a status it can be staffed for at least a portion of the day.
Proper funding is one of the many hurdles they are attempting to clear as they aim to pass a 4.5-mill fire levy during the general election on Tuesday, Nov. 3.
The township is also seeking the renewal of a half-mill cemetery levy.
Sheffield Township currently has three fire levies that it collects on totaling 4.5 mills. Expiring in 2026 are levies for 1.5 mills and one mill. The trustees are letting those expire to replace them with the 4.5-mill levy on the November ballot. A 2-mill fire levy that expires in 2027 will remain on the books and will be up for renewal.
When it is all tabulated, the township is seeking a 2-mill increase over what it currently collects for fire services.
“We haven’t seen an increase in funds since 2007,” Ocasio said. “I think we were barely making more than $100,000 from the two of them. We’re hoping by increasing them to 4.5 mills we’re able to get additional funding to allow the department to survive. We have mandates from the state when it comes to training and equipment. In my new budget, there’s no money there.”
The levy is for the purpose of providing and maintaining fire apparatus, appliances, buildings or sites, sources of water supply and materials, the establishment and maintenance of fire alarm lines; payment of volunteers, part-time or permanent firefighters or firefighting companies, emergency medical services, administrative or communications personnel to operate the same, including the payment of any employer contributions required for such personnel; or the purchase of ambulance equipment; or the provision of ambulance, paramedic or emergency medical services operated by a fire department or fire company.
“Some people have come forth to say they don’t want to lose the fire and EMS,” Ocasio said. “If we get this to pass, we’ll be able to put staffing on (the schedule) once again. The department has been in existence for at least six decades, and people don’t want to lose it.”
The Sheffield Fire Department is operating as a volunteer department with approximately 10 firefighters. Ocasio is recruiting to add to the ranks.
“Currently, we’re operating as a volunteer department and we’re being assisted by Kingsville Township until we can get our heads above water,” Ocasio said. “The goal is to start staffing the department. If we can get the levy to pass, the goal is, by the end of next year, to start staffing the department eight to 10 hours per day.”
Ashtabula County Auditor Scott Yamaoto estimates the fire levy will collect $202,729 annually, which amounts to $158 for each $100,000 of the county auditor’s market value.
A town hall meeting will be held on Oct. 6 at 7 p.m. at the Sheffield Township Hall to allow residents to ask questions and express concerns. A flyer is also being sent to residents explaining the timing of the levy, what it will do and how it will affect homeowners.
“We want to know where the residents are coming from.” Ocasio said. “It’s also important for the residents to know where the money is going. They see the trucks and ambulances, but they don’t know what goes into running the department, what it takes to maintain and operate those vehicles. (The town hall) will be an awesome educational experience for them.”
The township is asking for 4.5 mills based on a recommendation from residents of the community.
“A number of residents got together and made the decision on how much we should ask for,” Ocasio said. “They’re the residents and they want to see the fire department be successful. They got the information from the fiscal officer on what it costs for gear, equipment, training, the cost of new trucks and the cost of maintaining the trucks.”
Also before township voters is the renewal of a .5-mill cemetery levy for five years.
The cemetery levy is a renewal for the purpose of maintaining and operating Gageville Cemetery. Yamamoto estimates it will collect $15,692 annually, which amounts to $12 for each $100,000 of the county auditor’s market value.
The cemetery’s maintenance includes contracting out the mowing; trimming around the headstones; paying for utilities; and maintaining the gravel driveways. The trustees have discussed adding fresh gravel to all of the driveways and removing a couple of older trees from the property as they are at risk of falling.
“A lot of people who lived and grew up in the township are buried there,” Township Trustee Kirk White said. “Families go to visit them. I consider it a memorial park where you can go to remember somebody. That alone is important enough to maintain the cemetery, but when I go there to visit someone, I want it to be well-kept. I want the grass mowed and the headstones to be trimmed around. It should be beautiful.”
