This November, Oxford residents will decide whether to pass a levy which would provide $1.284 million per year to the Oxford Fire Department through increased property taxes. Miami University will provide the department with an additional $1.27 million per year, but only if the levy passes.
When Oxford residents go to the polls Nov. 5, they won’t just vote for a new president and state representatives. They’ll also decide whether to pass a levy to provide more funding for the Oxford Fire Department (OFD), which city officials say is understaffed and underfunded.
The proposed levy, Issue 2, will be on the ballot this November. The levy, which would raise $1.284 million annually for fire and EMS services, would cost property owners $91 per $100,000 of market value annually. The funds would help with OFD’s need for additional staff and new equipment and eliminate deficit spending by the department.
The deficit facing the fire department is estimated to be $24 million in the next 10 years. To make up the difference not covered by the levy, Miami University has signed an agreement committing to giving an additional $1.27 million to the fire department each year for 10 years — but only if the levy passes.
If passed, the property tax will be collected starting in 2025, but based on 2024 property value. City Manager Doug Elliott said the levy is on property tax, not income tax, because the City of Oxford currently has an income tax of 3% including both the school district traditional income tax and the municipal income tax, which is the highest in all of Butler County.
John Detherage, fire chief of the City of Oxford fire department, said the department gets about 3,200 calls each year and has been responding to those calls with only five people on duty. Detherage said that they have lost a large number of their full-time firefighters.
“What we’re trying to accomplish with this is make sure that we have enough people to provide service. As you can imagine, we’re very busy,” Detherage said. “We have about 3,200 calls a year. We’ve been doing that with five people on duty, which is not enough, and we’re to the point now where run volume has gotten to the point where we’re just wearing guys out. They’re up all night, and people have left.”
Elliott said in 2021, Oxford had nine full-time firefighters and paramedics, while Middletown had 82, Hamilton had 105 and Fairfield had 54. He said the firefighters were being overworked, and some left to go to other departments that had less runs and more time for rest between calls.
According to the City of Oxford website, 58.5% of fire calls in 2023 were from the City of Oxford, with 33.5% coming from Miami. The remaining 8% came from Oxford Township, Mutual Aid, Milford Township, Hanover Township, College Corner and Reily Township. Milford Township accounted for nearly 13% of EMS calls in 2023, compared to Miami’s 17% and the city’s 59%.
Oxford Township has committed to paying the department $200,000 for services in 2025, while Milford Township will pay $60,000. Milford Township has also committed to putting a levy on its 2025 ballot to increase its contribution to $225,000 per year.
In 2023, two thirds of OFD’s calls were for EMS services, while one third of calls were for fire services, according to a presentation shared by Elliott. More than 60% of the fire calls were false alarms.
“If [citizens of Oxford] want to have people available when they call for fire or EMS, this is very important to that,” Detherage said. “When we’re only staffing with five guys a day, that’s not enough people to take care of a house fire.”
Detherage said when Miami University students make a call, it is billed through their provided insurance, not the university. If insurance is not provided, the students are billed directly.
In order to hire six additional people on staff, it will cost $1.03 million. The presentation said that by the end of 2024, the deficit spending is estimated to be around $900,000.
OFD also needs to replace capital equipment within the department, including an aerial ladder truck from 2005, a 2010 ambulance, five cardiac monitors and defibrillators and four cots for EMS.
“The additional revenue will create sustainability for us and the city did projections of revenues and expense over the next 10 years, and that is how we calculated what we would need to address these issues,” Elliott said.
After the 10 years are up, Elliott said he isn’t entirely sure what will happen, but there is a strong possibility that they will ask for a renewal of the levy and agreement.
If the levy does not pass in November, Oxford would have to cut spending in a variety of different areas to balance the city budget.
“The city would be forced to drastically reduce capital improvement and equipment purchases,” Elliott said. “... We would also have to reduce staffing in the city services and programs and other city departments. We would also probably have to modify or eliminate fire and EMS improvements already made, or a combination of cuts to balance the city budget.”
Issue 2 will be on the ballot Nov. 5. The city has published a list of frequently asked questions on its website.
