2012 Ohio election results: Norton voters approve fire/EMS, school levies

CLEVELAND - It would seem the third time's a charm for Norton, as voters approved a school levy and fire/EMS levy Tuesday.

The fire and EMS levy will generate about $1.13 million annually for the fire department, costing the owner of a $100,000 house $140 a year. That's nearly double what Norton residents are paying now.

It also means the newly constructed fire station will be manned around the clock. For about the past year, the department hasn't been staffed from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. when, statistically, most blazes break out.

Voters approved building the Greenwich Road fire station in 2007, to the tune of $2.6 million. Construction was completed in 2011.

Had the levy failed for a third time, Norton would have had to implement more cuts, possibly bringing the staffing levels to what it was in the 90s.

The push to pass the fire and EMS levy hit the spotlight on Oct. 3 when a fire broke out around 11:30 p.m. at The Father's House Church on Wadsworth Road. It took multiple fire departments two hours to put the flames out -- a lack of hydrants and no staffing at Norton's Fire Department to blame. The building was a total loss. A sign now reads "We will be back."

The fire department only uses levy money for its operation.

Meanwhile, Norton's 1.9 mill school levy passed 53 percent to 46 percent.