BOARDMAN — Township trustees fielded questions from residents about the proposed 4.5-mill fire and EMS levy Monday at the board’s regular meeting.

While the meeting was sparsely attended, a majority of those who came spoke at length in opposition to the levy that would raise $6.1 million to support ambulance service in the township.

Mike Colyer, outreach pastor at Faith Fellowship Church Pentecostal Church on Midlothian Boulevard, said residents are overtaxed and struggling to make ends meet. He said his church’s food pantry sees anywhere from 250 to 1,100 people per month.

“These are people driving nice cars, and they all tell me they make more money now than they ever did, but they still can’t afford food,” he said.

Colyer said he supports emergency services, but he has seen his monthly house payment go up from roughly $680 to now more than $1,000 and most of it is taxes. He said the township is asking for too much.

Mark Brandenstein, who has been outspoken on social media about the levy, said he does not see why the township needs a levy for ambulance service, or needs residents to pay for township service at all while Lane LifeTrans is operating in the township.

Lane has contracted with Boardman to staff two ambulances in the township, but those units also answer calls in Austintown, Girard, Weathersfield, Niles and other communities.

Trustees also said that Mahoning County has gone from 11 ambulance services operating to just two — Lane and EMT, the latter serving only the city of Youngstown. They said they don’t want to wait to be left without any service at all.

Fire Chief Mark Pitzer said Lane’s contract only requires 60 days notice for them to pull service from the township.

Brandenstein said he doesn’t trust the township’s explanations.

“I don’t know who’s lying but somebody’s lying,” he said. “I trust Joe Lane.”

Pitzer said he understands that residents are wary of new taxes, but the township cannot sustain the one ambulance it bought to support Lane, or take the chance that the business may leave or fold on short notice. He and other township officials say that mutual aid from other communities or long response times from Lane leave the township without sufficient coverage.

Pitzer said last year, they had 50 occasions in which ambulance response took longer than 10 minutes and five occasions when it took longer than 20 minutes. He said Canfield responded to calls in Boardman on 144 occasions.

“I understand people are taxed out, but if we don’t have an ambulance available to respond, how much is a life worth?” he asked.

Trustees also said the township has received letters from Cardinal Joint Fire District in Canfield and Poland’s Western Reserve Fire District, stating they will not continue to provide emergency mutual aid to Boardman if the township cannot also provide ambulance aid to their communities.

Pitzer said he also has had to pull firefighters from staffing fire apparatus to ensure the ambulance is staffed, and that the cost is often covered with overtime pay, an unsustainable practice, he said. Without the levy, he said that ambulance unit will not be available by the end of next year.

The objectors did not care to hear it.

“You’re telling us you’re going to save our lives with this, so we better vote for it,” said Ralph Cook. “But you don’t need $6.1 million.”

Pitzer and trustees explained that the fire department’s budget for next year is $5.4 million, but only $700,000 of that comes out of dedicated fire funding, while the general fund makes up the rest. The objectors found that upsetting as well, accusing trustees of being dishonest about what the levy would fund.

Firefighter Brian Hallquist was the only one who spoke in favor of the levy and the ambulance services.

“You don’t want to know what it’s like when the closest ambulance is at Mahoning Avenue and Turner Road (in Austintown) while you’re doing CPR on someone and you have to explain that to their family,” Hallquist said.

Township Administrator Jason Loree said he finds it frustrating that the township has tried so hard to provide all the information residents need and some still argue based on a lack of understanding.

“We’ve done mailers, and my phone number is plastered all over the website, and you can call it, anyone can,’ he said, “but when people don’t have that information and they come to the meeting and get upset, it’s hard to give them that information in a short period of time for them to understand the full picture.”