VIENNA — Township fire officials on Wednesday reiterated and emphasized plans to terminate their ambulance service if a 3.5-mill levy slated for May’s primary election doesn’t pass.

The information session, hosted by fire Chief Gus Birch and fire Lt. Mark Haddle, who serves as president of both the township’s fire association and levy committee, aimed to give insight into the “new normal” following the Ohio Auditor’s Office placing Vienna in fiscal emergency in July after confirming the township was more than $1 million in debt.

Haddle explained to residents in attendance that the township boasts a volunteer service, with its 21 members all having full- or part-time jobs. Out of those 21 volunteers, however, only seven are EMTs, with one being an Advanced Emergency Medical Technician and two being paramedics.

With all of their volunteers having other obligations, Haddle said it equals a prolonged response time.

“The way it works is, we’re living our daily lives; we’re home in bed, we’re having dinner with the family — we get alerted to an emergency call via radio or cellphone app,” Haddle said. “We have to stop what we’re doing, put our shoes on, drive to the fire station, get that fire apparatus or that ambulance, and drive to the scene. It takes an estimated four to eight minutes to get these apparatus out the door if I had to guess.”

Haddle said they feared the township’s ISO (Insurance Services Office) rating — a score assigned to a community’s fire protection services based on factors like fire department capabilities, water supply, emergency communications and community risk reduction — increasing, too, as a lower rating can lead to homeowner insurance rates decreasing.

“Our current rating is based on having staffing in that station; if they come and reevaluate we’re not staffed, there is the potential; I can’t guarantee it, but there is the potential homeowners’ rates could go up,” he said.

Haddle said the township has been dependent on surrounding departments such as Brookfield, Liberty, Howland and Fowler for a majority of its EMS protection, adding that three of those departments are some of the busiest in the county and they’ve been leaning on Fowler “quite a bit.”

Birch noted an incident from several weeks ago, where the township had an EMS call and a Warren city ambulance arrived on the scene. He explained that this was in part because of the township falling to fifth on its mutual aid box system.

“There’s a huge delay whenever everybody else is out and busy, that we have to get that far down on our mutual aid system that they can get an ambulance out here,” Birch said. “Please, don’t take that as being a scare tactic, but that’s the unfortunate honest-to-God truth.”

Haddle said they’ve estimated the new 3.5-mill levy, which would replace two pre-existing, 1-mill levies, would bring in $507,186 annually. The funds would support EMS staffing using part-time personnel and continuing maintenance expenses on the fire department’s pre-existing equipment.

The new cost per $100,000 home value would be an estimated $127 per year, Haddle said. Right now, the cost is $50 per year.

Haddle said regardless of the levy being passed in May, the money wouldn’t be immediately available and the department wouldn’t see immediate 24-hour staffing.

“It will take some time to get some staff hired, onboarded, and on the clock. The ultimate goal for that is to have full-time staff,” Haddle said. “Better equipment and drastically reduced response times. We want to be at your house within three minutes if you call 911; that’s kind of the gold standard.”

Haddle said they understood concerns regarding giving money to their elected officials but pointed to the oversight Birch provided with 40 years of experience, which included managing a full-time unionized department and a tight budget.

He added the possibility of electing two new trustees will change who is in control of the township’s funds. Trustees Richard Dascenzo and Michael Haddle, who took over Robert Root’s term following his resignation last April, have their terms end in 2025.

The township also may have the chance to choose a new fiscal officer, as Jason Miner, Warren’s assistant fiscal officer who moved to Vienna to step into the remaining months of the term vacated by Linda McCullough, also will be up for reelection.

Mark Haddle said the new levy’s funds will be available in 2026. Any leftover funds would be spent on personnel and large capital purchases, such as a new fire engine that has been in service since 1989 — six years over its life expectancy.

RESIDENT COMMENTS

Former longtime trustee Heidi Brown, who served for 16 years, said that while residents are frustrated and blaming the fiscal officer and trustees, including her, residents had to give trustees the money to make things right, as they can’t accomplish anything if the levy doesn’t pass.

“My neighbors are all elderly. My husband is not getting any younger; I want that ambulance in four minutes,” she said.

Brown asked how much Liberty charges for an ambulance, to which Birch said it varies by patient.

“I would rather pay $120 for the new levy, than get that bill for hundreds and pay another township; it’s going to be cheaper for me to pass this levy,” she said.

Mark Haddle said their mutual aid departments are being very supportive and they aren’t hard billing their residents — but warned that their patience is “wearing thin.”

“They’re either going to start hard billing or demand that we give them a contract to provide EMS coverage for the whole township, and that is not a cheap endeavor,” he said. “That would basically take the amount our levy already is and give it to that department, and we will have zero funds for running the fire department.”

Birch said people also need to remember that certain emergencies are very time-dependent, noting brain damage can set in between four and six minutes if the brain doesn’t get oxygen.

Dolores Barrick, who has spent 47 years in Vienna, pointed to their fire department always being picked as one of the best of the best, only coming second to Howland despite their size.

“There’s 365 days in the year and there have been times there have been over 1,200 calls; in 365 days, and they’re at my house within three to five minutes,” Barrick said. “Now, either they want this to continue and they have this protection, or there’s going to be people who die because these services aren’t available.”