Jayson Combs, Sugar Creek Township Trustee
SUGAR CREEK — Residents living in the Sugar Creek Township area will see a slight tax increase in 2024. Officials with Sugar Creek Township say they need to re-establish a cumulative fire fund to help keep up with growth in the area.
The tax will be levied on all real estate and personal property and will not exceed $0.033 per $100 of assessed evaluation, which is currently at $0.028, SCT officials said.
The measure passed via a 2-0 vote by SCT board members Matt Holland and Joe Fitzgerald. The third board member, Mark Mattes, was absent. The approval comes at the suggestion of Sugar Creek Township Trustee Jayson Combs, who said he had no choice but to ask for a slight increase.
“We’ve added 14 new subdivisions to our area over the past several years, plus with all the mutual aid work we do, it leaves us no choice but to expand,” Combs said. “The growth is really forcing our hand to do this.”
Combs noted their financial advisor stated, per $100,000, there will only be $1.42 tax increase.
“It’s half of a penny at the end of the day,” Combs said. “We’re trying to be proactive with making sure the department is prepared, but we also want to be conservative with our tax base.”
Combs stated the SCTFD is busier than ever and that they had 2,412 runs in 2022. Their operating budget for 2023 is $11 million for 53 full-time firefighters. However, Combs believes that, with so much growth in the area, they had no choice but to approve a tax increase despite having $5 million in their current operations fund and another $500,000 in their current rainy day fund.
Combs said he plans to bring on another administrative official this year to help SCT Chief Brandon Kleine who is responsible for all the SCT firefighters, plus there will be a need for expansion at fire station 45 and the need for another fire station in the not too distant future.
“Right now we’re looking to adding onto station 45, adding an administration wing and that could come as soon as this year, but we are just not sure yet,” Combs said.
He also stressed the need to replace a failing septic system at fire station 45 as well as other repair needs there.
“We’re doing band aid work on it right now and that is going to be a chunk of money,” Combs said. “Plus, we also need a maintenance and storage building we are trying to get established.”
In addition to the tax increase, Combs stated he also plans to apply with the state for the Growth Appeal Tax, allowed when areas increase population. It will help the SCT gain another estimated $600,000 in tax money.
“In 2021, the state did pass a law that you can get more money if you had a certain amount of growth and we are in the process of going after that money,” Combs said. “You have to have more than 6% growth and we’ve had 6.5% growth.”
Combs noted SCTFD has more firefighters than the Greenfield Fire Territory and while GFT may have more run numbers than they do, SCTFD goes all over the county through mutual aid work including into Cumberland.
“With all the alarm runs up in the northwestern part of the county where all those factories are, we’re getting a lot of runs, helping Buck Creek Township,” Combs said.
Plus, their ladder unit is an older 2005 model and is in the process of being replaced with a new one that will take several years to outfit and make. That truck, which will be used throughout the county, will cost SCTFD at least $1.6 million.
Combs stressed that part of his job involves preparing for all the growth in the area and also making sure the firefighters are well trained, and paid so that they don’t leave for other departments.
“No one wants their taxes increased, but we think we’ve done it in a responsible manner,” Combs said.
