By Michael Johnson
cleveland.com
NORTH ROYALTON, Ohio — North Royalton voters will decide Nov. 3 whether to renew and increase the city’s emergency medical services levy, creating a five-year, 2-mill tax expected to generate about $2.27 million annually.
The property tax is one source of money for the city’s EMS Levy Fund. Recent audits show the General Fund has also transferred millions of dollars into the fund to support operations.
| THE PULSE: Medics cite staffing, leading from the front as signs of healthy leadership
These are five takeaways from the original article, which examined what Issue 57 would raise and how North Royalton has financed the EMS fund.
1. Issue 57 would renew 1.7 mills and add 0.3 mill
The proposal would create a 2-mill EMS levy for five years beginning with tax year 2027, with collections starting in 2028.
The Cuyahoga County Fiscal Officer estimates it would generate about $2.27 million annually and cost $57 a year for each $100,000 of market value.
The existing 1.7-mill levy expires at the end of 2027.
2. The property tax does not finance the EMS Levy Fund by itself
North Royalton’s 2024 audit shows the fund received about $1.82 million in property-tax revenue and $2.22 million in transfers from the General Fund.
Its budget-basis statement reported about $4.1 million in expenditures.
On that basis, property-tax revenue equaled about 44% of the fund’s expenditures in 2024.
3. General Fund transfers have been substantial in multiple years
The same financing structure appeared in 2023.
That year, the EMS Levy Fund reported about $1.81 million in property-tax revenue, $3.65 million in expenditures and a $2 million General Fund transfer.
Those past transfers show that the levy has not been the fund’s only source of support, but they do not establish how much the city would transfer after a new levy begins.
4. The proposed increase is tied to three additional firefighter-paramedics
Council President Mary Gorjanc told cleveland.com the 0.3-mill increase would allow North Royalton to hire three more firefighter-paramedics.
She cited rising EMS calls, including overlapping calls when multiple medic units are already responding elsewhere, along with an aging population.
A renewal-only option would have maintained three positions added after the 2022 levy but would not have funded the additional hires.
5. The increase would raise about $408,000 more than renewal alone
City Council considered asking voters to renew only the existing 1.7 mills before choosing the larger proposal.
Issue 57 is estimated to generate $407,544 more annually than that renewal-only alternative.
The estimates assume the city’s taxable property value remains constant throughout the five-year levy period, so actual collections could differ.
©2026 Advance Local Media LLC.
Visit cleveland.com.
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.