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Mifflin Township fire chiefs outline staffing, equipment shortfalls and ask Gahanna-area voters to back 1.95-mill levy
Summary
Mifflin Township fire leaders told Gahanna City Council that recruitment, rising equipment costs and flat levy revenue have strained operations and asked residents in the township to approve a 1.95-mill levy on May 6 to restore staffing and return Medic 131 to full service.
Mifflin Township Division of Fire Chief Brian Dunlevy and his senior staff described staffing shortfalls, rising apparatus costs and other pressures Thursday and urged approval of a 1.95-mill levy that will appear on the May 6 ballot for township voters.
The chiefs told Gahanna City Council the levy equals $68 per $100,000 of auditor-appraised value; for a home appraised at $300,000 that translates to about $204 per year, roughly 56 cents a day, according to figures cited by the chiefs. Chief Dunlevy said the levy would allow the department to restore shifts and avoid cross-staffing, and to maintain specialized services such as heavy technical rescue and hazmat response.
“Unlike many other professions, we cannot simply call someone else to handle the problem,” Dunlevy told council. He said the division is one of two certified heavy technical rescue units east of Interstate 71 and stressed that the division covers rope rescue, trench rescue, confined-space rescue and tactical EMS in partnership with Gahanna police.
Assistant Chief Scott Davis outlined the department’s behind-the-scenes operations, including a consolidated 911 call center that takes roughly 18,009 emergency calls and more than 22,000 nonemergency calls annually, a fleet-maintenance program the division started in 2022 to reduce outside labor costs, and efforts to refurbish ambulances for $150,000–$200,000 rather than buy new vehicles.
Davis said equipment prices have risen sharply: a ladder truck that cost about $1.265 million in 2018 is priced at roughly $2.5 million as of Jan. 1, 2025, with four-year delivery waits and further cost growth anticipated.
Deputy Chief Lee told council that passing the levy would allow the department to put Medic 131 (stationed at 475 Rocky Fork) back into full-time service. He said the division currently has several unfilled full-time positions and expects that, without levy approval, the department will be short six full-time positions by the end of the year.
Council members asked how the levy would change operations. Dunlevy and Lee said restoring staff would reduce cross-staffing — a practice in which crews must cover multiple units — and help ensure assigned apparatus remain in service and fully staffed.
No formal council vote was required; the chiefs were seeking to inform residents and encourage turnout. The chiefs announced a public information session about the levy at 6 p.m. Monday, April 28, at 155 Old Ridenour Road.
Why it matters: Dunlevy and his command staff framed the levy as a near-term fiscal solution to a recruitment gap, fixed-levy rules that freeze taxpayer contributions while costs climb, and rapidly rising apparatus prices. If voters do not approve the levy, the chiefs said the department may need to continue scaled-back staffing and cross-staffing that can affect how quickly and how many units respond to emergencies.
The chiefs did not request any vote by Gahanna City Council and presented the material as part of a council presentation period. The levy applies to Mifflin Township voters; according to the chiefs the township is separately promoting a police levy that does not affect Gahanna residents.
Ending: The chiefs emphasized the levy’s linkage to restoring a medic unit and filling vacancies; they invited residents to the April 28 information session and encouraged questions there and at the May 6 election.
