By Karen Vance
Enquirer contributor

PIERCE TWP. - Officials in this Clermont County township are not sure what the future holds for their safety services after residents voted down a 4.5-mill levy Tuesday.

The levy, which would have provided funds to pay for the township's portion of three grant-funded police officers and bought a new ambulance and additional equipment, was rejected 1,626 to 1,494, according to final, unofficial returns.

"We have to sit down and evaluate if we're still going to be able to do that," said David Coyle, the township's administrator.

Tuesday's election had a positive result for safety-service levies in two other Clermont County townships, Union and Goshen.

Union Township voters approved the township's 4-mill levy 5,660 to 3,971.

The funds will be used to build two new firehouses, one in the north and one in the central area of the township, and will allow the township to hire more than 30 new firefighters and 16 new police officers over the next five years.

"This will greatly improve our response time; and we'll be able to do some things, like community policing, that we just haven't been able to do," township Administrator Ken Geis said.

The township has seen rapid growth in the last 10 years. The number of police calls has risen 73 percent since 1990. And with growth, traffic increases have pushed response times for the fire department past six minutes, he said.

As in Union Township, growth was the driving force behind Goshen Township's 4-mill levy.

Voters approved it 1,493 to 1,387. The township will use the funds to update safety equipment and hire more police and fire personnel, said township Clerk Sandy Graham.

Neither township had asked for a safety-services levy since 1991.

The Bethel-Tate Fire District faces some big decisions in the wake of its ambulance-levy failure.

The levy would have been used to fund 24-hour ambulance service, said Chief Melvin Dean.

He said he's not sure what the township will do to make up for the potential shortfall.