Photo by Stephanie Elverd Martins Ferry councilman Andrew Smay thanks Police Chief Vincent L. West for his efforts in helping secure passage of the city’s 5-mill police levy during Wednesday’s council meeting.

MARTINS FERRY — A day after voters overwhelmingly approved the city’s police levy, Martins Ferry Council met in regular session Wednesday as city leaders expressed gratitude across the board.

Voters approved the city’s 5-mill police levy — a measure officials said was critical to maintaining current staffing levels and emergency response services without increasing taxes — by a vote of 572-176, according to unofficial results.

City leaders said the margin of approval reflects strong community support for public safety funding.

“It shows the true testament as to the respect in the city of Martins Ferry, that 76% of the voters agree that it’s a necessity that our police have a levy,” City Safety Director Melissa Yeso said. “Keep that in mind in the future when our fire department has to bring a levy as well.”

Police Chief Vince West said the department’s officers were encouraged by the results and thanked residents for their continued support.

“I want to thank the citizens of Martins Ferry,” West said. “The officers really feel good about it. It shows they are well-liked in the city.”

West also credited city officials for helping advance the measure to the ballot.

“I would like to thank the safety director, Melissa Yeso,” he said. “She really went above and beyond in helping us get the word out. I want to thank Andy Sutak for actually getting the levy on the ballot, and council for approval in putting the levy on the ballot.”

Mayor John Davies said the passage reflects strong community support for emergency services.

“I think the people of Martins Ferry support all of our safety divisions and they proved that yesterday,” Davies said. “These guys work 24/7. They answer every call every time. Safety is really important to the city of Martins Ferry and the people passed it overwhelmingly and I think that’s a great thing. We thank them for all of their support for everything that our police, EMS and fire department does.”

Councilman Andrew Smay also praised the department’s efforts.

“I just want to thank the chief for all his hard work on getting this levy passed, doing the hard work and representing the city of Martins Ferry,” Smay said.

The levy generates about $300,000 annually and is dedicated solely to police department salaries. West said the funding supports the salaries of 11 full-time officers and helps sustain the department’s staffing structure, including part-time officers and three full-time dispatchers. Martins Ferry is the only city in Belmont County with 24/7 in-house dispatch services, according to officials.

West said the levy eases pressure on the city’s general fund and ensures the department can maintain minimum staffing levels as the levy is “just used for salaries and it takes the strain off of the general fund.”

Officials said that without the levy, the department could have faced staffing reductions and slower response times, with funding responsibilities shifting to the general fund.

They added that maintaining the current funding structure helps ensure residents can continue to rely on prompt emergency response and consistent coverage across the city.

Law enforcement data shows response times vary significantly between jurisdictions. Urban departments typically respond within five to eight minutes, while rural agencies often average 18 to 25 minutes or longer due to staffing and coverage limitations, with some priority calls approaching 20 minutes in rural areas. Officials said maintaining local staffing levels helps reduce those delays.