City Seeking Renewal Levy for Fire Department

The City of Mentor hopes to place a renewal levy for the fire department on the November ballot.

The levy would renew the 1.5-mills voters approved in March 2008 to support full- and part-time salaries, buildings, apparatus and equipment. The levy has been on a five-year renewal cycle for decades.

The levy brings in just over $1 million per year, according to the Lake County Auditor's office. The owner of a $100,000 home pays $21.92 per year for the levy.

Mentor City Council on Tuesday passed a resolution requesting the Lake County Auditor to certify the total current tax valuation for the city and the amount of revenue that would be generated by the renewal. Council will wait on that figure before making the levy official with the board of elections.

The levy usually provides about 10 percent of fire department's budget, which was $10.4 million in 2013, Chief Richard Harvey said.

"Without (the levy), we'd have to reduce staffing or the city would have to give us more money from general fund.," Harvey said. "It is very essential to the fire department's operation. We try to give great service and it helps us do that."

Harvey said the department has purchased rescue squads in some years, while in others the levy was fully used to pay salaries. The department has about 120 employees.

"(The levy) has normally passed within good margin," Harvey said, "but I don't want to go in too confident."