The voter-approved Fire Protection Millage in Scio Township will give the department the opportunity to improve its services, including building a second fire station.

Placed on the Nov. 5 ballot, the millage proposal was put forth after a previous one was defeated in 2023. This time around voters gave it the thumbs up. The Sun Times News connected with Scio Township Fire Chief Andrew Houde to ask about the approval and what it means going forward.

Houde said the ballot question asked to eliminate the current 1.35 mill special assessment and replace it with a 2.7 mill millage. He said this will bring in about two times what they are currently receiving in revenue; next year it should bring in about $4.6 million for the department.  The millage’s duration is for 12 years.

“This new funding will allow us to borrow, through issuing bonds, enough money to build a second station,” said Houde. “We anticipate a 10-year bonding issue to be able to fully pay for the building. This also gives us enough funds to hire firefighters over the next six or so years to be able to fully staff the building.”

The addition of the second station will allow Scio to greatly reduce response times to emergencies and provide enough resources to properly handle most emergencies in the community, Houde said. Construction of a second fire station is planned to take place on Wagner Road, near Liberty Road.

In addressing the community and voters, Houde said, “We really appreciate the support of the community and a lot of thanks are due the community groups that worked alongside the Fire Department and Firefighters union to educate voters on the importance of adequate fire department staffing.  A huge thank you is due to voters for their support of their fire department and the work we do for the community.”