Sara Walsh- Co-Chairperson of the This Is Us Genoa Township PAC and also Chairperson of KOPSS (Keep OUR Police and Safety Services)

This year, while providing crucial support for ballot measures taking place in another Ohio township, the Firefighters and EMS Fund was contacted by a committee from Genoa township. They heard about our mission to support public safety and requested we help them make their case to the public for why their fire and EMS levies should be renewed. 

Here is what Sara Walsh, Co-Chairperson of This Is Us Genoa Township PAC as well as Chairperson of KOPPS- Keep Our Police and Safety Services, had to say about why the levy renewal this year was so well deserved:

Our fire and ems dept is funded every 5 years on a levy that the Township passes. We have about 24,000 residents in Genoa. Our fire department’s fiscal strategy has been so good, that this 5 year budget will allow us to purchase heavy equipment and renovate stations if needed. They have actually been so frugal that we are able to make a reduction this year. The reduction in millage will result in a decrease of $5.60 per 100k of valuation. Which in our mind further confers that our fire department, who is well established and well respected, are especially good stewards of the money granted from our levies. We are huge proponents of what our fire department does for us.

What I have noticed is that when you talk with our residents about emergency services, you will see people glow with pride because of the exceptional service and professionalism that those emergency responders provide to our residents.

Firefighters and EMS Fund traditionally offerers services such as peer to peer text messaging, graphic design work and digital ads; however, the This Is Us Genoa Township committee had such a good handle on their Get-Out-The-Vote efforts that we determined the best course of action would be a direct monetary contribution to their PAC. Co-Chairperson Walsh went on to talk about her experience working with Firefighters and EMS Fund:

The Firefighters and EMS Fund was crucial to our campaign’s success with their support direction and very needed funding. They allowed us to achieve our goals in reaching our citizens to further support our fire department in promoting voter turnout for our levy. Without their support, we would not have been able to achieve our goals in supporting our fire and EMS providers. 

What is unique about the Firefighters and EMS Fund is that they can speak for those who often go unspoken- and what I mean by that is, usually it’s difficult for a government employee to  ask for a yes vote, whereas a citizen support group can do that on their behalf. Oftentimes funding is a large challenge because people assume that someone else will take care of promoting a ballot initiative. The Firefighters and EMS Fund stepped in where there is a gap in resources to help support fire departments maintain funding so badly needed in these economically challenging times.

Genoa Township Fire Chief Joe Ponzi shared his thoughts on our efforts to support emergency services in Genoa:

We are fortunate to have found your organization. Your financial support of the PAC that was supporting our levy campaign allowed the PAC to close the financial gaps and allow the PAC to continue their campaign efforts for us. Your support and that of the PAC is crucial in campaigning for the passage of our 5-year levy efforts that will allow us to continue to provide the outstanding fire and EMS services to our residents.

I am thankful for your support of our cause, thank you again!  Your support came at the right time in our campaign that allowed the campaign to meet their budgetary needs.