As operation costs climb and emergency calls continue to increase, Madison Township voters will decide Nov. 3 whether to approve separate police and fire levies that officials say are necessary to sustain current service levels.
The township is seeking an additional continuing levy of 4.89 mills to fund its fire protection and emergency medical services, as well as maintenance of the fire department's fire apparatus, rescue equipment, buildings and sites, and other continuing operating costs. If approved by voters, property owners would pay $171 for each $100,000 of the county auditor’s market value.
A separate, additional levy of 1.99 mills is being sought to fund the Madison Township police department for a continuing period. If approved, property
owners would pay $70 for each $100,000 of the county auditor’smarket value.
In total, the two additional levies total 6.88 mills and would cost a property owner would pay $241 more per $100,000 of the county auditor's market value.
Fire and EMS call volume has increased 4%-5% annually, chief says
Should voters approve it, the fire levy would raise an estimated $6.8 million annually for the Madison Township Fire Department, according to the election notice posted on the county Board of Elections website.
The department operates three fire stations and has 64 full-time personnel, said Madison Township Fire Chief Derek Robinson. The department is fully staffed and responded to more than 11,300 calls for service in 2025, Robinson said.
As of the end of September, the department had responded to just over 8,400 calls for service this year, he said.
Robinson said that the department's call volume has increased between 4% and 5% annually, and emphasized that the levy is not to expand services but to maintain current services.
While the fire department is not in dire straits and will not have to close any of its three fire stations should the levy be voted down, Robinson said there would be some "hard looks" at staffing and personnel.
"This new levy would not be providing any more staffing or stations," Robinson said. "It would just be to keep operations where they are now." Robinson said. He noted that the last time there was a levy for the fire department was in 2015 for 2.56 mills.
"We've basically been bringing in the same revenue for those [number] of years and the costs continue to go up," Robinson said.
Police chief points to increase in costs for equipment, staffing woes
Madison Township police Chief Victor Boyd told The Dispatch that the additional police levy is to continue providing the current services to the township, not to expand them. The last time township voters passed a police levy was in 2011 for 1.3 mills.
Money generated from the police levy will go toward funding the police department's motor vehicles, communication infrastructure, salaries, and administrative costs, Boyd said. If approved, the township estimates that it will collect more than $2.78 million to fund the police department, according to the election notice.
The police department has 18 full-time sworn officers, which is four officers short of the necessary staffing level needed, Boyd said. One of the department's biggest challenges is recruiting, he said, because the township must compete with neighboring law enforcement agencies that offer significantly higher pay, including the Columbus Division of Police and the Franklin County Sheriff's Office.
Those agencies, along with several suburban departments, typically pay officers $30,000 to $35,000 more per year than Madison Township, Boyd said. Township officers currently top out at an annual salary of about $95,000, Boyd said.
"We've interviewed around 52 people to fill vacancies, and we just can't do it. We cannot find people," Boyd said.
The department is required to have a minimum of two officers to patrol the approximately 41 square miles that the township spans, Boyd said, and officers are feeling the strain from call volumes that have increased over the years.
In 2025, the police department responded to more than 8,200 calls for service, Boyd said. Through August, township police had handled 4,071 dispatched and self-initiated calls this year.
In addition to staffing issues, the cost for police equipment such as cruisers and body armor has also increased, Boyd explained. For example, the cost of a basic police cruiser was $23,500 in 2011 when the last police levy was approved. In 2026, a new police cruiser hovers at around $50,000, Boyd said.
The costs for body armor have also increased, according to Boyd; ballooning from around $600 in 2011 to nearly $1,900 in 2026.
"All of those costs have doubled, or nearly doubled, since then," Boyd said.
Early in-person voting is currently underway at the Franklin County Board of Elections with varying hours and limited weekend hours and will end Nov. 1. For a calendar of voting hours and days, go to https://www.ohiosos.gov/elections/voting-schedule. Polls on Election Day, Nov. 3, will be open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Absentee ballots must be requested by Oct. 27 at 8:30 p.m. from the board of elections. Absentee ballots must be returned to the board of elections by 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 3.
Reporter Shahid Meighan can be reached at smeighan@dispatch.com, at ShahidMeighan on X, and at shahidthereporter.dispatch.com on Bluesky.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Madison Twp. police and fire chiefs point to rising costs as need for levies
