FARMINGTON — Township officials are hoping to convince residents to pass a 2.9-mill operating levy that will raise $203,907 per year for its fire department.

The township will eliminate three fire levies that were passed in 1982, 1983 and 1986 if the 2.9-mill additional levy passes, according to fire Chief Jonathan Bland. Combined, those levies raise $71,699.16 per year.

“With the elimination of the three levies, the 2.9 -mill levy will bring in an equivalent of $126,998 per year in new money,” Bland said.

If the 2.9-mill levy passes, the department will have an operating budget of $497,748.71.

The department has a current budget of $370,750.02 per year.

Earnings from the levy will be used for basic operating costs of the fire department.

The department has 25 part-time firefighters cross-trained as either emergency medical technicians or paramedics. If the levy passes, property owners will pay an estimated $102 per year for each $100,000 of the home’s appraised value, commencing in 2027.

When the township changed from being an all-volunteer department to a part-time department in 2017, EMTs were paid $8 per hour and paramedics were paid $9 per hour. Increased competition for employees has required salaries to be increased to $15 per hour for firefighter / EMTs and $19 per hour for firefighter / paramedics.

“There are at least two firefighters on duty 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” Bland said.

Department salaries are $260,000 per year.

In 2016, the last year when the Farmington Fire Department was all volunteer, it responded to 303 alarms. The next year, after becoming a part-time department with 24-hour staffing, the number of calls increased to 468.

So far in 2025, the department has responded to 701 alarms and is expected to answer more than 800 calls by the end of the year.

“We help supplement tax based revenue by soft billing EMS transports,” Bland notes. “Patients’ health care coverage receives a bill for service; however, Farmington residents are not responsible for the remainder of what their insurance does not pay.”

“This service generates approximately $90,000 per year,” he continued. “It helps to supplement operating costs of providing transporting ambulance service.”

Bland emphasized the township is placing this levy on the ballot because it is projecting that, due to inflation and other factors, the department likely will be operating at a deficit either in 2027 or 2028.