Hartford trustees consider fire levy

HARTFORD -- Township trustees have called for a July 10 community meeting to discuss placing a fire levy before voters.
The meeting will be at 6:30 p.m. at the township fire station.
Trustee Randy Smith said Friday that voters have rejected levies recently to support road maintenance and fire and police protection.
Smith said new residents may not know the township has a part-time fire department and might not be able to respond to an emergency.
The township gives the fire department between $25,000 to $30,000 annually, said Kristine Hunkus, township clerk, but there is no levy dedicated to funding the department.
Last month, trustees from Hartford and Brookfield townships met to discuss the possibility of Brookfield extending its fire service to Hartford.
Brookfield has spent so much of its firefighting time in Hartford that it has considered charging Hartford on a per-call basis when it responds to a fire. Hartford has one ladder truck.
Because of new residents moving into Hartford, Smith said trustees want to inform them and other residents how much a ballot issue would generate and how much it would cost them.
Smith said the amount of a possible levy hasn't been discussed.