Heath City Council voted this week to ask voters to renew a five-year, 1-mill property tax levy for fire and emergency medical services.
If the request is approved by the Licking County Board of Elections, the levy would appear on the May 6 ballot.
And if voters approve, the levy would produce an estimated $307,000 over five years and cost taxpayers about $20 for each $100,000 of property value as determined by the Licking County Auditor’s appraised value, according to a document attached to the resolution approved by the city council on Feb. 3.
The tax would be levied in the years 2025-2029 and would first be collected in 2026.
The Heath Fire Department “protects Heath’s 12.5 square miles with a staff of 20 full-time firefighter/paramedics, including Chief Warren McCord,” according the city’s website, and the department responds to about 2,400 calls a year for service.
“Two permanent property tax levies complement the department’s income-tax-based funding,” the website says, adding that a fourth funding stream for the department is an EMS billing program, which the city implemented in October 2006.