North Royalton voters will be asked to vote on a safety issue on the upcoming November 8 ballot. If passed in November, the five-year, $1.7 mill EMS levy would replace the current $1.7 mill levy which currently is set to expire at the end of 2018. If passed, the new levy will then take the place of the old levy, which will then start being collected in 2017. The new levy will raise taxes, as it will be a replacement, rather than a renewal.
This is the only five-year levy that the city of North Royalton is currently running. It was started in the late 1980s, when the North Royalton Fire Department was expanding their department to include Emergency Management Services (EMS). The original millage was passed by voters at $1.2 mills. The levy was renewed in 2002, began collection in 2003, and expired in 2008. At that point, voters were asked to pass a replacement levy at $1.7 mills, which started collection in 2009. North Royalton voters last passed the levy in May, 2013, which was a renewal.
According to North Royalton Finance Director, Eric Dean, the current levy collected $780,635 last year. If passed, the new levy is expected to generate an additional $630,000 per year. The levy continues to help pay for the program, helping to fund the salaries of the city’s thirty firefighters/paramedics, equipment and operation of that part of the Fire Department. If passed, residents will pay $59.50 per $100,000 in home valuation, according to Dean. Currently, homeowners pay $30.91 per $100,000 in home valuation.
By GLORIA PLEVA KACIK
Contributing Writer