ADDISON — An attempt to restore funding for fire protection is on the Aug. 4 ballot in two Irish Hills-area townships.

Rollin and Woodstock townships both had fire protection millages that expired in 2025, forcing them to pay for fire services out of general operating budgets. To restore that funding, Rollin Township is proposing a 1-mill levy, and Woodstock Township is proposing a 0.75-mill levy.

The taxes would pay for services provided by the Addison Fire Department, which is operated through an interlocal agreement between Rollin and Woodstock townships in Lenawee County, Wheatland Township in Hillsdale County, and the village of Addison. The four jurisdictions pay for services based on the number of runs required by their areas, which usually works out to about 40% each from Rollin and Woodstock townships and 10% each from Wheatland Township and Addison.

“To keep the level of operation we have now, we need to get these passed or there will be dire consequences,” Rollin Township supervisor Mike Clark said.

In the past, Clark said, the department benefited from the generosity of Donald Murdock, the president of M&S Manufacturing, and the Weatherwax Foundation in Jackson. But Murdock died in 2019, and the Weatherwax Foundation sunsetted its operations a few years before that.

Add to that the fact that costs are escalating rapidly, and it’s a recipe for strained budgets.

The department, which runs on about $550,000 a year and covers 109 square miles, has four trucks able to battle a major structure fire and four smaller trucks for things like grass fires, according to fire chief David Aungst. 

And that equipment is aging. For example, the department purchased a ladder truck last year — but that truck was 23 years old, and Aungst said it can probably last five years. 

The department’s newest large truck is 12 years old. Ideally, Aungst said, new apparatus would be purchased on a five-year rotation, with trucks being replaced when they reach 20 years old.

Clark said he believes the millages are necessary to keep funding a department that provides excellent service.

“We have a great department,” Clark said. “We never hear anyone have anything but the highest praise for them, and my experience has been very much the same.”

Ballot questions across Lenawee County

In addition to Rollin and Woodstock townships, the following areas have ballot questions on the Aug. 4 primary ballot. 

• Blissfield Township — a roads and bridges millage renewal of just under 1.5 mills, two fire operations millage renewals totaling 1 mill, an 0.5-mill fire equipment millage renewal, and a 1-mill levy for fire department general operations, daytime staffing, and special equipment.
• Clinton Township — a 1.6-mill fire department millage renewal.
• Deerfield Township — an 0.25-mill fire operations renewal, a 0.5-mill fire equipment renewal, and a 3-mill roads and bridges renewal.
• Dover Township — a 1.6585-mill roads and bridges renewal and an 0.8810-mill ambulance renewal.
• Medina Township — a roads and bridges renewal of just under 2 mills.
• Palmyra Township — a 1-mill fire department operations renewal.
• Riga Township — a 1.5-mill fire millage renewal, a 1-mill fire equipment renewal, and a 2-mill roads and bridges renewal.
• Tecumseh Township — a renewal of just under 1 mill for fire, police and ambulance services.
• Britton Deerfield Schools — a 2-mill sinking fund levy for school facilities and equipment. 
• Hudson Area Schools — an 18-mill operating millage renewal.
• Morenci Area Schools — an 18-mill operating millage renewal.
• Waldron Area Schools — an 18-mill operating millage renewal.