Plain Township trustees urge New Albany to confirm commercial TIF sharing as fire budget tightens

Plain Township trustees urged the New Albany City Council on June 18 to formally confirm sharing of commercial tax-increment financing (TIF) revenue to help cover mounting costs for their fire and EMS services.

"We'd like to formally ask for the legislation to award those to the township tonight," Carrie Millard, chair of the Plain Township board, told council members during the hearing-visitors segment. Millard asked council to confirm a one-time retroactive TIF payment and to continue talks about commercial abatements that affect the township's fire budget.

Trustee Dave Ferguson presented the township's financial picture, saying the fire department brought in about $8.7 million in revenue in 2023, mostly from property tax, with a modest amount from TIFs and EMS billing. He said deferred capital, rising equipment costs and new staff had eroded carryover balances. "We can't extend this levy anymore," Ferguson said, arguing the township needs additional revenue beginning in 2026.

Plain Township also described how rising apparatus prices and long lead times add pressure: trustees and the fire chief noted a recent example in which a fire truck ordered two years ago for about $935,000 now lists closer to $1.5 million, with roughly a four-year delivery timeline.

Chief Connor (Plain Township Fire Department) told council mutual-aid arrangements remain essential across central Ohio and that roughly half of runs now involve mutual aid in some months. He said EMS transport billing yields some revenue but is typically "soft billed," meaning residents usually do not face direct collection; the program recovers what insurers pay but writes off unpaid balances.

Township Administrator Ben Collins provided legal and historical context on property-tax funding, explaining that levies can produce temporary surpluses that later plateau while expenses grow. Collins said trustees project run volumes could rise 10% in three years and 50% over a decade as the population and senior housing expand.

Council members questioned the trustees about how much of the cost is borne by residents versus businesses and how inspection and EMS-fee revenue offsets costs. Trustees said recent inspection fee increases were aligned with neighboring jurisdictions and that a retroactive commercial TIF payment (cited in discussion at roughly $900,000, with council references to a $600,000 figure tied to the township's fire receipts) would significantly help the 2025 budget but would not remove the need for a 2026 levy.

Millard and trustees asked that the council confirm in writing the existing approach in the city's 2024 operating budget, which designates most commercial TIF revenue as non-fire TIFs, and to continue collaborative work with the schools and other partners in setting levy timing and size. Trustees said they planned to vote on placing a levy before their July 10 meeting to meet ballot-certification deadlines for November.

What happens next: Council heard the township's request and followed up with detailed questions; trustees said they would vote July 10 on submitting a levy to the fall ballot and asked the city to confirm the TIF-sharing arrangement in writing so the township could finalize its 2025 planning and avoid an anticipated 2026 deficit.