ORFORDVILLE- The Newark Township special vote on the Orfordville Fire Protection District tax levy did not pass Monday night, Orfordville Fire Chief Ryan Perkins said.
The vote was part of the fire protection district’s plan to hire full-time fire department personnel instead of relying on volunteer crews.
Perkins said he has requested an emergency fire commission meeting for Thursday, Dec. 1 at 6 p.m. and hopes to have a direction after the meeting for the plan moving forward regarding fire services and EMS (emergency medical services).
All townships that are served by the Orfordville Fire Protection District approved the district’s requested levy increase including Plymouth Township and the Village of Orfordville. The referendum passed with yes votes totaling 391 and no votes totaling 221 in the Village of Orfordville in the general election on Nov. 8.
The Orfordville Fire Protection District provides fire and EMS services for five municipalities including the towns of Newark, Spring Valley, Avon, Plymouth and the Village of Orfordville.
Perkins also said they are working on their intergovernmental agreement with the five municipalities they serve and looking to finalize their budget.
He also noted that he wants the public to understand that the referendum helps both Orfordville Fire and EMS services. They have had issues staffing the ambulance for EMS. In October 2022, the ambulance was out of service 40% of the time, Perkins said.
The department plans to have three firefighters working each day, two full-time and one part-time, once they have the OK to hire full-time members. The department currently has no full-time members.
The fire department has previously discussed merging with other departments, which is still something they would like to discuss in the future. Perkins said he does not know which department the Orfordville department might merge with, but the goal would be a countywide system.
