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Fire chief urges voters to approve levy to close near-$1 million shortfall, warns of staffing brownouts
Summary
Delhi Hills trustees heard a presentation from the fire chief that a proposed property-tax levy on the upcoming primary ballot is needed to close a projected near-$1 million budget gap, sustain staffing and preserve current response times; trustees pledged outreach to inform voters.
DELHI HILLS — The township fire chief told trustees at a council meeting that the fire department will ask voters in the upcoming primary to approve a property-tax levy to avert cuts to personnel and services, citing a projected shortfall approaching $1,000,000 by 2026.
The chief said the department has handled about 1,100 runs so far this year and reported an average time from the 9-1-1 call to on-scene of 5 minutes 34 seconds. He warned that, without additional revenue, expenses — driven by rising health-care and workers’ compensation costs, fuel, utilities and equipment inflation — will outpace the township’s largely flat revenue, enlarging the budget gap.
"We have gone as far as we possibly could to run a lean operation," the chief said, adding that personnel make up about 85% of the…
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