Perrysburg Township officials say they need a sustainable way to pay for their fire department and emergency medical services as the township's coffers get drained from lost state funding and declining property taxes.

That's why on the Nov. 6 ballot, the township is asking voters for a new continuing levy, officials said. The 4-mill tax is projected to raise about $1.45 million a year, costing the owner of a $100,000 house about $120 annually, according to township fire Chief Tom Brice.

That same homeowner pays about $112 in taxes from three existing fire and EMS levies, according to the Wood County Auditor's Office.

The new revenue is needed to keep the department at status quo; otherwise, cuts would be likely, the chief said.

The township's fire/EMS staff of 43 includes 18 full-time employees, the rest paid volunteers. This year, staff salaries are projected to account for about 51 percent of the fire department's $1.59 million budget and about 54 percent of EMS' $1.39 million budget.

The biggest issue is EMS, which township trustee Gary Britten said is a burden on the township's general fund. Every year, the township spends about $1 million to subsidize it, he said.

"You always hate to go to the people for more money in this day and age. … Some people don't have a job. They're losing their homes," Mr. Britten said. "But it's gotten to the point we're afraid we're going to have to."

The fire department, meanwhile, receives about $1.08 million annually from 1-mill and 2-mill levies that both expire in 2013. One mill equals $1 of tax for each $1,000 of assessed property value.

Mr. Britten said if the November levy passes, the township board would consider allowing one or both of the existing fire levies to expire.

First Published May 29, 2012, 4:15 a.m.