It’s the first additional money levy for the fire department in about 10 years, township Administrator Barry Tiffany previously told the Dayton Daily News.
“COVID had a big effect on all costs ... everything that we purchase for the department,” he said. “Ten years ago, we were buying fire trucks for $300,000, and now fire trucks are three quarters of a million dollars.”
The money would go toward fire department payroll, plus materials including fuel and equipment, Tiffany said.
By far, the largest share of the township’s budget is payroll, Tiffany said. While Sugarcreek Twp.’s firefighter wages are competitive with other local districts, competition for fire department workers is stiff in the Miami Valley.
Most of Sugarcreek’s firefighters are part time. Ohio law prohibits part-time employees from working more than 1,500 hours annually, roughly 28 hours per week.
“It really ties us down to allowing the part-time firefighter to only work every sixth day, because they work a 24 hour shift,” Tiffany said.
In 2022, Kyle Koehler (then a state rep, and now a state senator) introduced legislation with the goal of temporarily increasing the limit of part-time hours people can work for small townships in Ohio. The bill died in the Ohio Senate.
The township is also working with the Ohio Fire Chiefs Association to see if there are areas where the township can increase efficiency by sharing fire and EMS services with the neighboring city of Bellbrook. The association will be studying whether or not it makes sense to combine Bellbrook and Sugarcreek into one fire district.
“Our goal here is to continue to provide exceptional services in this township for our residents and visitors,” Tiffany said.
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