SEVEN HILLS, Ohio -- On May 4, the Seven Hills Fire Department is asking residents to pass Issue 6, which is a 5.04-mill renewal levy that was originally passed in 2006.
The fire levy costs a $100,000 homeowner $176.40 a year and raises $1.6 annually for the 45-member part-time Seven Hills Fire Department.
“It’s critical for us,” Seven Hills Fire Chief Jamie Meklemburg said. “This is 95 percent of our operating budget so without this we’re dipping into the general fund in a major way, which obviously that money could be used for a lot of different things.
“Being a renewal, it’s not an increase of tax dollars. A lot of the programs we run here -- as far as public education, fire prevention and car seat installations -- are paid for with those dollars.”
The Seven Hills Fire Department operates five firefighters around the clock by city ordinance and runs two ambulances.
In related news, the fire chief is currently looking forward to the fall delivery of a recently-ordered $591,000 pumper truck, which will replace a 1997 fire engine.
“They’ll start building the truck by the end of April or beginning of May,” Meklemburg said. “It takes about six months once they start building it to get it delivered. It’s lease-to-purchase so it’s being paid over the next 10 years out of the city’s capital improvement project fund.”
Something else the fire chief is looking forward to is eventually shifting the department from primarily part-time firefighters to full-time employees.
“It’s certainly out a little bit further than I had hoped coming here,” Meklemburg said. “COVID just hadn’t helped anything. It’s still a goal, but we’re going to have to see what effect the pandemic had regarding money.
“So while I feel very strongly about adding full-time staffing here, it’s kind of on pause right now.”
The Seven Hills Fire Department had 1,487 runs in 2019 followed by 1,430 runs in 2020.
“I’m in year 20 of my career and last year was without question the most stressful,” Meklemburg said. “It was a year of uncertainty, changing our operations and guys getting sick -- some getting very sick, some not getting sick at all.
“As far as our residents last year, you couldn’t ask for anyone better. We had food deliveries. I have a file cabinet full of thank you cards. The residents went above and beyond anything I expected last year.”
Read more news from the Parma Sun Post here.
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