On Thursday, council asked the Greene County auditor to certify the dollar amount the levy would raise. It is not yet clear how much the tax levy would cost residents in comparison with the 3.5-mill levy that would expire.
The money would go towards funding the city’s fire, EMS, and police departments, and would include hiring additional officers, medics, and other staff, something that is necessary as the city is expanding, City Council President Will Urschel said during the regular council meeting Thursday.
One goal is to have another patrolman on staff, “especially with the size of our community, as our community is going to be growing and expanding in population,” he said.
The money would also go toward replacing the city’s aging Station 2 firehouse. Constructing a new firehouse would be necessary to improve response times to newer areas of the city, as well as give adequate space for both firefighters and equipment, something the current station is “woefully inadequate for,” Urschel said.
“We end up parking equipment outside year round, and it’s an extremely cramped and antiquated station,” he said. “Especially as we start expanding some of the neighborhoods to the south, we’re at the risk of the required response time that we’ve placed upon ourselves.”
Xenia City Council recently committed to two-year agreements with Xenia Community Schools to include two shared elementary school resource officers in addition to the existing high school and junior high SRO positions. One SRO position at the Greene County Career Center is also a shared cost with the career center, according to public documents.
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