City of Shelby to seek fire levy in November

SHELBY — The city of Shelby will ask voters in November to pass a 5-year, quarter-percent income tax levy.

If passed, the measure would generate $500,000 annually for the fire department.

“We would not be bringing a levy to the table unless we felt it was truly needed for the long-term sustainability of the quality of services we’ve been offering,” said Shelby Mayor Steve Schag.

If passed, the levy will increase the tax on earned household income by 0.25 percent. This would raise the current 1.5 percent earned household income tax to 1.75 percent.

For a yearly household income of $100,000, the levy would cost 69 cents per day, or $4.80 per week.

Households with a yearly combined income of $50,000 would pay 35 cents per day, or $2.40 per week.

It’s estimated the levy would generate $500,000 annually for the fire department, said Chief Mike Thompson.

The Shelby Fire Department took over all emergency medical service (EMS) transport on Oct. 13, 2022, ending decades of outsourcing ambulance service to a private contractor. 

Shelby was the final department in Richland County to take over EMS services and will continue to handle emergency medical transport for both Jackson and Sharon Townships.

The department ended its contract with Superior Ambulance Service after it was notified that the contractor would require a $350,000 annual subsidy starting on, what would’ve been, its next contract.

Prior to the end of the contract, Superior Ambulance Service did not require the city to pay a subsidy, which would need to be covered using taxpayer dollars.

Patients would also still be billed and responsible for any remaining transport costs after insurance.

Taking over EMS transport has been an exciting new venture, but has also brought challenges, Thompson said.

The department previously served as a backup for Superior Ambulance Service, averaging 70-85 transports per year. Projections suggest that figure will now increase to over 1,000 transports per year.

“We had to add staff immediately and an ambulance,” Thompson said. “They gave us three weeks to go from basically zero, to fully transporting.”

Since October, the department has added three full-time employees to bring total staffing levels to 15 full-time firefighters. Seven firefighters are certified paramedics, with one in-training.

Thompson said the goal is for the entire department to slowly become dual-trained as both firefighter and paramedic.

Firefighter paramedics make a starting wage of $18.34 an hour, then $20.54 an hour after their third year with the department. Firefighters make $17.47 per hour, then $19.56 after three years.

Increased staffing levels have also caused accommodation problems at the station, Thompson said.

“The Milliron family gave the city an unbelievable gift, and it’s hard to imagine, but we’re out of room,” he said.

Temporary sleeping arrangements have been made in the department’s training room. The room is an asset the department has not had previously, but now must be used as a bedroom due to lack of space, Thompson said.

“There are a number of things that bring us to a point of needing a sustainable revenue stream (for the department),” Schag said.

Taking back EMS transport will provide a revenue stream, but with the ebb and flow of transports through the year, there will be a certain initial lag time, said Schag, thus the need for a levy.

Annual levy funds will help the department update fire equipment and vehicles and provide additional bedrooms and space for staff and equipment accommodations.

Additionally, it will help avoid extra burdens on the city’s general fund, Schag said.

“The benefit of the levy is that Shelby citizens will continue to benefit from soft-billing on EMS transports from our department,” he said.

The department’s soft-billing charges no added costs or collections to patients for transport, in contrast to hard-billing, where patients were responsible for any remaining costs insurance didn’t cover.

With soft-billing, the amount covered by the patient’s insurance is the only charge collected by the department.

“The city wasn’t paying anything to the ambulance service, but the citizens were paying exorbitant amounts,” Thompson said. “It’s a huge savings for taxpayers, as far as out-of-pocket costs.”

As inflation continues to hit municipalities, and their households, Schag said the levy is a matter he doesn’t take lightly.

“It all adds up for families, so I’m very sensitive to that,” he said. “No one puts a levy on the ballot without that realization.”

More information regarding the proposed levy will be forthcoming, with plans for an informational brochure in the near future, said Schag.