The Lebanon Fire District Board of Directors heard from two election consultants during its regular meeting on Tuesday, May 12.
The strategists were being considered for hire concerning a possible second attempt at a levy to help fund operational costs in the fire district.
The fire district asked for support from the community in the May 2024 election, saying the 75-cents per $1,000 assessed value would provide for six additional firefighters with the goal of, ultimately, improving response times.
Then-Fire Chief Joseph Rodondi said call volume increased 45% in the past decade, and there’s been a 200% increase in “call overlap” (more than one call happening at the same time), causing average response times to increase three minutes, 23 seconds.
Of the 24,772 registered voters, only 8,354 voted, turning down the request by 68.54% (5,489).
During the presentation of the 2026-2027 fiscal year budget last month, Budget Officer and Fire Chief John Tacy reported that with the district’s limited permanent tax rate of $2.26 per $1,000 assessed value, there is an expected structural budget deficit of approximately $931,961 for the next fiscal year.
In his budget message, Tacy stated “this deficit is structural, meaning expenses consistently outpace revenues” due to rising operational costs, increased demand for services and limited revenue growth.
As such, LFD is discussing the possibility of returning to voters with a levy proposal once again in the May 2027 election.
One of the consultants focused on communication strategies with the public, and emphasized the need to steer away from a November election given that “the country is on fire” politically right now, particularly on the federal level.
The other consultant also agreed a May election is best. She took the economy into consideration and said her strategy could be to conduct a poll as well as assist in educational outreach.
In other business, the board:
- Adopted the 2026-2027 budget for $15,995,078.
- Heard from the union vice president who reported the union and fire district have come up with a tentative agreement, which will be voted on by the end of the month.
- Board Member Matt Herb said some residents were disgruntled about the county’s burn message system, which, he said, was not available on Sunday until after the time which backyard burning would be allowed.