Morgan Township trustees adopt resolution to place 2.75-mill fire levy renewal on Nov. 4 ballot

The Morgan Township Board of Trustees voted to adopt Resolution No. 034-2025, declaring the necessity of renewing a 2.75-mill tax levy for fire protection and emergency medical services and directing township staff to submit the measure to the Butler County Board of Elections for the Nov. 4, 2025 ballot.

The resolution, read into the record by a trustee, states that the levy is a renewal of an existing 2.75 mills “for the benefit of the Morgan Township … for the purposes of providing and maintaining fire apparatus, appliances, buildings, and sites … the payment of permanent part time or volunteer firefighters … or the purchase of ambulance equipment, or the provision of emergency medical services” as authorized by the Ohio Revised Code. The resolution directs the township fiscal officer to certify copies to the Butler County Auditor and to request the auditor’s calculations of current tax valuation and projected revenue if the levy is approved.

The law that triggers the formal resolution requirement was cited during the reading. The text refers to Ohio Revised Code section 5705.03 as the statute that requires a board to pass and certify a resolution when a levy is proposed outside the 10-mill limitation; the reading also cites Ohio Revised Code section 5705.19 in describing permitted uses for the levy. Trustees emphasized that the item is a renewal, not a new or increased levy; the resolution states that, if approved by voters, the first collection would be in calendar year 2027.

Trustees moved and seconded the resolution on the meeting floor and approved it by roll call. The board also directed the fiscal officer to provide the county auditor and the Butler County Board of Elections with the requested certification and copies of the resolution so the measure can appear on the November ballot.

The resolution language specifies the levy rate (2.75 mills) and lists the general categories of permitted spending under the Ohio Revised Code, but it does not include a line-item budget or an estimate of the tax impact on a property owner; the trustees asked the county auditor to provide the dollar amount that would be generated by the levy and the revenue per $100,000 of appraised value.

The trustees approved the resolution by recorded vote and certified the measure for the Nov. 4, 2025 election, as required by state law.