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Batavia Township trustees approve 9.5-mill fire levy for May ballot
Summary
The Batavia Township Board of Trustees voted Jan. 5 to place a 9.5-mill levy for the township fire district on the May 2026 ballot, with the board voting unanimously to adopt Resolution 01-01-2026 authorizing the measure.
Batavia Township trustees voted unanimously Jan. 5 to place a 9.5-mill levy for the Batavia Township Fire District on the May 2026 ballot.
Randy Perry, who moved adoption of Resolution 01-01-2026, said the levy is intended to fund fire and EMS services for township residents. Danielle Wessel seconded the motion; the board recorded unanimous votes in favor.
Township Administrator Karen Swartz told trustees the township and Central Joint Fire & EMS District (CJFED) rely on property-tax levies rather than sales tax for fire funding and noted a recent CJFED levy failed in November. Swartz said new housing growth will help distribute costs to new taxpayers and that, if Batavia Township withdraws from CJFED, overlapping taxes would be removed from property bills.
Residents asked questions during public participation about levy costs and how the proposal would affect taxpayers. Monica Taylor specifically queried the projected cost to homeowners; trustees discussed using county auditor tools to estimate household impacts but did not provide a per-household figure during the meeting.
The board adopted Resolution 01-01-2026 by roll-call vote; the measure will appear on the May 2026 ballot. The trustees did not set a detailed homeowner cost estimate in the meeting record; trustees said the County Auditor’s website provides levy-cost calculators.
