How to fund three firefighter positions, the future of the community center budget, and employee health-care contributions were discussed at a Northwood City Council committee-of-the-whole meeting Thursday.
In August, the Northwood Fire Department was selected as one of five departments in the United States to receive a Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response grant. The $939,819 SAFER award was used to pay the wages and benefits of an additional three full-time firefighters for three years.
“It’s going to be an ‘oh crap’ moment in three years if we don’t figure out how we’re going to fund those three,” Councilman Dean Edwards said. “The goal is to maintain and not lay off three people.”
“Yes, that would be a huge black eye,” said Kevin Laughlin, city administrator.
The three firefighters will cost an additional $327,000 annually once the grant ends.
“It ultimately begs the question of is there room within our current budget,” Mr. Laughlin said. “You’re looking at cutting somewhere to make up for that increase in the fire department. The other option would be to increase revenue, which would be a tax increase, levies.”
Councilman Louis Fahrbach asked about the status of a joint fire district, which could consist of combining operations with Lake Township or Rossford.
“The joint fire district is still on the table, but it’s really a question of how long is it going to take,” Mr. Laughlin said. “If we got everyone sat down tomorrow in agreement, you’re looking at two years.
“It’s still on the table, it’s still being actively discussed, but it’s very much an open-ended question right now,” he said.
Mr. Laughlin also reminded council that Northwood is losing $200,000 annually in local government funds. The changes will go into full effect in 2027, with no changes in 2025 and phase-in changes in 2026.
“I think we have enough time to prepare,” he said. “Now is the time to really look at what our options are.
“It’s really straightforward. We need to either find more money in our existing budget or we need to get more money from somewhere else,” Mr. Laughlin said.
After the meeting, Mayor Ed Schimmel was asked whether an income tax increase or a recreation or fire levy was in the city’s future.
“I’m not sure, but I want to definitely look at all the options. Northwood has no levies, 100 percent tax-reciprocity, the lowest tax rate in the area at 1.5 percent, so we’ve been very good at keeping taxes as low as possible,” he said. “And we’re going to continue doing that, but we have to have a balanced budget.”
Mayor Schimmel added that Ken Yant, finance director, reported that the city was on track in its income tax collection this year.
“Which is a great thing to hear because we certainly didn’t finish out the last quarter of 2024 on budget,” he said.
The city ended 2024 with $6.5 million in total income tax collection, compared to $7.4 million at the end of 2023. The expected income tax revenue for 2025 is $7 million.
Mr. Fahrbach also led a discussion on the community center.
The center cost $9 million to build and has a $255,000 deficit so far this year. It opened in June and has 1,009 members.
“Very popular, right? I’m not sure I’ve heard an actual bad report in regards to what it’s offering or how it’s doing,” Mr. Fahrbach said. “The question is, what does the future revenue look like for that facility, and how far do we want to run in the red?”
With the average membership cost at $80, that’s bringing in “extremely low” revenue of $80,000 annually, he said.
Councilman Jim Barton said the Rossford and Bowling Green community centers have been in business for 20 years, and they're still in a deficit.
“They run on levies, and we’re never going to make money on this,” Councilman Pat Huntermark added.
“Break even would be nice,” Mr. Barton said.
Mr. Huntermark said there should be savings on how the splash pad is operated; a 30 percent reduction is expected from turning down the water pressure. He’s also researching a well installation.
Mr. Barton said that as the Enclave expands, the community center will thrive. The Enclave, which was built on the site of the former Woodville Mall, will eventually consist of the community center, homes, senior living, apartments, and some small commercial businesses.
“Look at Levis Commons [in Perrysburg] — there are stores out there that feed off other stores. We have nothing out there now,” he said of the Enclave. “As that grows, I think that will happen.”
Mr. Fahrbach suggested more research on what local community centers and the YMCA charge for memberships.
Randy Kozina, council president, said nonresident memberships could possibly be increased.
Council also discussed employee contributions toward health care, which is currently 6 percent. Contracts allow up to 15 percent. Various unions have different contract deadlines, and the city usually works on its health insurance in the fall. The discussion was when to start an increase, if one is agreed upon.
Mr. Yant said the plans that employees have selected have resulted in savings this year.
“If I take every department in the 2025 budget and add up the health care, I get $993,000. The plans that were actually selected by the employees, the actual cost for 2025 is going to be $866,000,” he said. “The difference is close to $70,000 that we should save in the 2025 budget.”
Mr. Fahrbach said the city should gradually increase the employee contribution, perhaps by 1 percent a year.
“One percent is a $8,600 difference, but it sets a precedent that we’re not going to continually pick up the raises for every health care [increase]. The private sector doesn’t do that,” Mr. Fahrbach said.
Mr. Huntermark said this could be considered a perk from the city, which is one of lowest paying in the area.
Mr. Kozina said that should be part of negotiations.
“It’s just bad negotiations,” he said of how things are currently done. “I have never in my life seen anything like this.”
First Published March 15, 2025, 1:30 p.m.
