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Welcome to the Fire Levies section of the website. Please select
from the following links for more information:
Fire
Levies
November 2005 Replacement Levy Information
Please find below information and PDF documents on the Beavercreek
Township Fire Department November 8, 2005 Replacement Levy:
Outside
Millage Resolution (PDF document)
This is a copy of the official resolution
presented by the Township Fiscal Officer to the Board of Elections
to certify the Fire Department's 2.75 mil Replacement Levy for
the November 8, 2005 ballot. It is based upon the Township Resolution
339-2005 and the County Auditor's certification.
Township
Resolution 339-2005 (PDF document)
This is the full text
version of Township Resolution 339-2005 authorizing the Fire
Department's 2.75 mil Replacement Levy for November 8, 2005.
This resolution requests the County Auditor's certification of
the levy's valuation, as well as authorizing the Township's Fiscal
Officer to present it to the Board of Elections.
Estimated
Tax Revenue (PDF document)
This is the standardized certification
prepared by the County Auditor in response to the Township's
request in Resolution 339-2005. This shows the Township's valuation,
as well as the estimated revenue from the replacement levy.
Back to Top Composite
Reduction Factors (PDF document)
This report, prepared by the State
of Ohio, provides information on the reduction factors for all
tax levies that are outside of the 10 mil Limitation. These reduction
factors are the result of House Bill 920, passed in 1976, to
limit tax revenue from increasing due to increases in assessed
property value. It includes the reduction factors and effective
rates for all levies, according to taxing authority and separated
according to property type.
Back to Top How
many levies fund the Fire Department?
As of January 2005, the Fire Department is funded by five special fire levies.
Four of these levies are continuing and have no expiration date; the fifth
is a
five-year levy set to expire in 2007.
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Why
does the fire department need additional levies?
The Fire Department is dependant upon property tax levies
for almost 85% of its operating budget. Unfortunately,
while tax revenues do not increase over
time, the Fire Department’s expenses do increase with inflation, cost
of living, and expansion of services. The difference between rising costs and
flat revenue requires the periodic addition of levies to cover the difference.
For
more information, please see the following charts:
§ Ten-Year
Expense Projection (2001-2010)
§ Ten-Year
Revenue Projection (2001-2010)
§ 2004 Revenue Detail
§ 2004 Revenue
Distribution
§ 2004 Expense
Detail
§ 2004
Expense Distribution
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Why
do levies lose value over time?
Protection of the rights of property owners from excessive
taxation has been a tenant of State law since Ohio’s
creation. Current tax law requires that property taxes
bring in the same revenue that was originally approved
by the voters. Property tax levies are governed both by the Ohio Constitution
(Article XII, Section 2) and the Ohio Revised Code (particularly Chapter
5705).
Currently,
property tax rates are subject to a reduction factor to prevent
a property owner from paying taxes in excess of the value they
voted to approve. This protects the property owner from owing
additional taxes due to increases in their property’s
value.
The
result of applied reduction factors is that the value of a
levy decreases over time in relation to the value of taxed
property. The problem this creates is that the Fire Department’s
cost of doing business grows with inflation, but our primary
revenue stream (property taxes account for 60% of our total
income) does not increase. This means that we must continually
return to the taxpayer and request adjustments to our funding
levies.
(Updated) For an excellent reference
about property taxes in Ohio, please read
this edition (PDF 89 KB) of Taxing
Issues by the Center of Community Solutions. For more information
regarding Ohio taxes and related issues, please visit the Center
for Community Solutions (formerly the Federation for Community
Planning) online.
For more detailed tax information, including tax rates and property
valuations, please visit the Ohio
Department of Taxation.
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What
is a Rollback?
Rollbacks are credits that the State provides property
owners to offset the impact of property taxes. Currently,
the State has two rollbacks. A 10 percent
rollback was implemented in 1972, reducing a property owner’s property
taxes by 10 percent. In 1979 the State adopted an additional 2.5 percent rollback
for owner-occupied residences. So, if you own and live in your own home, your
taxes are decreased 12.5 percent by the State of Ohio.
There
is also a Homestead exemption for low-income homeowners. This
State program also helps reduce the impact of property taxes
by decreasing the taxable value of property by up to $5000.
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Can
money from levies be used for anything besides fire protection?
No. Money from special tax levies, like fire levies, may only be used for the
purpose originally approved by the voters. Our fire levies are approved under
section 5705.19(i) of the Ohio Revised Code, and may only used for:
1) providing and maintaining fire apparatus, appliances, buildings, or sites
therefore; or
2) sources of water supply and materials therefore; or
3) the establishment and maintenance of lines of fire alarm telegraph; or
4) the payment of permanent, part-time, or volunteer firefighters or firefighting
companies to operate the same, including the payment of the firefighter employers'
contribution required under §742.34 of the Ohio Revised Code; or
5) the purchase of ambulance equipment, or the provision of ambulance, paramedic,
or other emergency medical services operated by a fire department or firefighting
company
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My
house was just re-appraised with a higher value. Will the
levy be based off my current home value, or the re-appraised
value?
The quick and easy answer is that the taxes you pay will be equivalent to
what you would pay based upon your homes current value. However, because tax
questions never seem to be quick or easy here's a longer, but more exact, answer.
When outside millage taxes are figured on your property they are figured on your
home's value at that time. A reduction factor is then applied to the tax rate,
creating an effective rate, to ensure that you do not pay more for any individual
tax levy than was approved by voters. If your home is reappraised in 2005, this
new valuation will be applied to taxes beginning in 2006. However, the fire department's
2.75 mil replacement request will be applied to your 2005 property value.
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