Knox County voters in a number of precincts saw levies on the ballot this past November. Some of these were renewal levies, extending an existing tax for a period of a few years in order to fund public services. Some were replacement levies, increasing the tax to accommodate new public service needs. As the table below shows, there is some correlation between the success of a levy and whether it was a replacement or a renewal. Renewal levies tended to succeed, while replacement levies tended to fail. Without talking to voters it is impossible to explain this trend, but it is notable. Other factors of levy difference, such as difference in purpose and geographic location, are less strongly correlated with levy failure or success.
Two of the failed levies were set to provide funding for fire departments — the Central Ohio Joint Fire Department and the County Line Joint Fire Department.
Central Ohio Joint Fire Department
The Central Ohio Joint Fire Department was requesting a replacement of a 5.5 mill levy with a 5.925 mill levy, costing a taxpayer $207 per $100,000 of appraised property value. The levy was going to fund firefighting, resuscitation and rescue equipment, as well as staffing and ambulance costs. Although the Central Ohio JFD serves both Knox County and a small area of Morrow County, there were no election results for the COJFD in Morrow County. In Knox County, the levy failed with 52.28% of voters voting against and 47.72% of voters voting for. However, at the precinct level, results varied significantly.
In the Centerburg precinct, the levy was significantly more popular than it was in Knox County overall. Centerburg voters went for the levy at 51.81%, with 48.19% voting against (notably, Centerburg is also where the Central Ohio JFD is located). Had the trend of Centerburg continued elsewhere, the levy would have passed. However, Centerburg voters only made up 25% of the total population in Knox County for whom the COJFD levy appeared on the ballot this November. The rest of the COJFD voters came from precincts in Hilliar township and Milford township. In Hilliar, 55.72% of voters across two precincts went against the levy, and in the two precincts in Milford, 51.17% of voters voted no. The Milford B precinct was an incredibly close race, which came down to three votes — 332 Milford residents voted for the levy, and 335 voted against.
The Central Ohio JFD levy is back on the ballot in May, for the same 5.295 millage that was requested in November.
County Line Joint Fire District
The County Line JFD was requesting a raise from the current 4.5 millage to a 6.5 millage, in order to fund replacements for equipment, improve housing conditions, decrease response times, and help offset the costs of recruiting and retaining firefighters. The levy appeared on the ballot with the language of “an additional tax,” as opposed to other replacement levies which appeared as “a replacement of a tax.”
We looked into whether “drop-off” (the phenomenon in which voters vote for the presidential and other top of the ticket races) affected the outcomes for the CLJFD levy. Unlike the COJFD, voting on the CLJFD levy was split between counties. In Knox County, only the Morgan precinct voted on the County Line JFD levy. 696 people in Morgan precinct voted in the presidential race, and 687 voted on the levy, meaning that only 9 voters cast their ballots for the president and left the levy election blank. Drop-off in Morgan precinct did not significantly affect the outcome of the race, as 56.33% of voters voted against the levy.
A much larger share of the overall votes on the CLJFD levy came from Licking County’s Utica Village and Washington Township precincts. In Utica Village, 905 people voted on the levy (down from 931 in the presidential race), with 58.01% (525 people) voting against the measure and only 41.9% (380 people) voting for it. This was the largest drop-off of the three precincts, but still not significant relative to the election results. In Washington Township, 351 people voted against the levy and 227 voted for it, making the grand total of levy voters 578, with 60.73% voting against. Drop-off in Washington Township was the lowest, with only 7 fewer levy voters than presidential voters.
After the failure of the previous levy, the May ballot will include a replacement County Line JFD levy of the same amount as the current levy — 4.5 mill for 5 years. If passed, the levy would be first collected in 2026, costing a taxpayer $158 per $100,000 of property value. According to the County Line JFD website, the new levy is specifically meant to allow the department “increase operational efficiency” and allow the department to staff firefighters during working hours when volunteer firefighters are unavailable.
Early voting for the May special election has already begun. Election Day is May 6, 2025.
Emerson Salome ‘25 is a CSAD student associate, majoring in political science with a minor in anthropology.