German Township voters will decide in November whether to approve a new property tax levy for their police department. The proposed 1-mill, five-year levy would fund police equipment, buildings and salaries for a department that has patched together coverage with fewer officers and older equipment for nearly three decades.
According to the Springfield News-Sun, the levy would cost property owners about $35 annually per $100,000 of appraised value.
When Stitzel started with the department 23 years ago, it employed 14 to 16 officers and ran eight cruisers, the paper reports. Today the department serves a 36.14-square-mile area with more than 7,200 residents. Separately, Facebook posts from Ohio Law Enforcement Pictures describe the department as currently maintaining active duty coverage 16 hours a day, seven days a week.
A Previous Police Tax Proposal
In May 2011, German Township voters rejected a separate proposed police tax addition by a 68.32% to 31.68% margin, according to Ballotpedia. The measure sought an additional 10 cents per $100 of assessed value for police protection services.
To stretch the budget, he buys used Ohio State Highway Patrol cars when they're available. Stitzel also said officers need competitive wages to stay with the department and keep providing community service, framing the levy's eventual goal as getting officers in the field longer, with 24-hour coverage as the long-term target.
Police Response in the Community
Stitzel told the News-Sun that a failed levy would not close the department, but would likely mean reduced operating hours. The paper reports that a local police presence gives residents faster response times, more thorough local investigations and officers positioned close to schools, with the department also supporting school resource officers and community relationships built through officers embedded locally. The department maintains an open-door policy for residents, according to the same reporting.
The department has responded to serious local incidents. German Township police served as the primary emergency responders to an armed altercation in Tremont City in September, arriving before Clark County Sheriff's deputies, as Hoodline previously reported. Tremont City is a village in Clark County with roughly 350 residents.
A Regional Pattern of Police Funding Fights
German Township isn't alone in seeking new public safety money. Neighboring Springfield Township placed its own 0.5-mill police property tax levy on the November ballot after local voters defeated similar measures twice in recent years, a request that would maintain a single dedicated sheriff's deputy patrol if passed.
In November 2025, county voters rejected a sales-tax proposal to help fund a replacement county jail.
German Township emergency responders have also joined larger regional efforts, joining New Carlisle, Pike Township, Springfield and Tipp City crews in September to battle a lightning-caused fire at New Carlisle Elementary School.
