ST. CLAIR TOWNSHIP — Approximately 5,300 registered voters are being asked to approve an additional tax levy for the St. Clair Township Police Department for the purpose of maintaining motor vehicles, communications and other equipment and other expense that will help maintain the departments operations and continue to provide services at the current level during the May 5 General Election.

The St. Clair Township Police Department currently operates with 15 full-time sworn police officer, one part-time sworn police officer and one full-time administrative assistant. There is one officer currently off on extended medical leave, and the department has a vacancy due to the retirement of an officer.

Police Chief Brian McKenzie said the passage of the levy will keep the department maintaining what they currently have, and they are not looking to add people even though he is down two officers currently and is looking just to fill the one vacancy.

“We are not looking to increase our manpower, we are just looking to get back to where we were a couple years ago,” McKenzie said. “I understand it’s tough out there; it’s tough for everybody, but for us to continue to maintain what we have been doing for our community over the last few years, we are just asking for help to help us maintain that.”

He noted that there are costs that people don’t understand such as body cameras and there is a big push for body cameras and the body camera program is not cheap. The department is currently looking for grants to help offset the costs of the program. McKenzie has received estimates ranging from $200,000 from one vendor to over $600,000 to $700,000 from another vendor for all the officers to have their own body cams and all the cruisers to have car cameras. That is in addition to the cost of cloud storages.

He also said the mobile laptops in the cruisers are antiquated and need replaced leaving the department to inefficiently do the job with what they are currently operating on.

The department has several cruisers that have more than 150,000 miles on them which McKenzie said are really starting to nickel and dime the department and he would like to look at getting them replaced instead of putting band aids on the problems because they are spending more money in repairs then what they would spend in quarterly payments on cars.

McKenzie said the department currently operates on $1,562,000 from current property taxes collected and had expenditures for 2025 $2,043,000, creating a deficit spending of $481,000 and a new 3-mill levy would generate $734,327 annually.

“As you can see there would not be much of a carryover, $253,327,” McKenzie said. “A carryover is needed to cover our expenses for the first quarter of each year. This new 3-mill levy is truly to maintain the services at the current level.

“Fiscal Officer Deborah Dawson does a great job really watching the pennies and dimes and keep the police department on track, but the department has to stop the bleeding and get back to the where they can still effectively do their job the best they can for the community.”

The levy is a continuing levy that is not to exceed 3 mills for each $1 of property valuation which totals an additional $105 for every $100,000 of property valuation and if passed will begin in 2026 with first due in 2027. Owners of properties valued at $40,000 would pay $42 yearly, and owners of properties valued at $150,000 would pay $157.50 annually.

McKenzie noted that if the annual cost was broken down daily, it would probably total about 30 cents a day.

He noted that his department does not receive a penny from the county sales tax.

“I want to be specific; we are looking to maintain what we have, not increase,” McKenzie said. “I would love to have another five officers, but realistically we know that the community can’t pay for that.”

McKenzie also said he knows there is a big push to eliminate property tax right now and he understands it, but there needs to be a solid solution in place before they eliminate that because there are 10 million Ohioans who rely on public services funded by property taxes including police, fire, medical, 911 centers and more.

“I understand the thought process, but before we eliminate it, let’s find a solution that everybody can live with,” McKenzie said.

Kgarabrandt@mojonews.com