Officials set to vote on joint fire district resolution

Changes to the final draft will require equal contribution of money.

By JOHN W. GOODWIN JR.

VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF

HUBBARD — Township and city officials may go forward with a joint fire district here, but some officials do not agree on how much seed money from each community should go into the district.

Plans to create the Eagle Joint Fire District have been in the works for several months. City council and township trustees recently received a final draft of the resolution to create the district.

Township officials, meeting Monday, said they are ready to vote on the resolution at a special meeting tonight, but asked for changes in the wording — changes that disturbed some city officials.

The resolution to create the joint district called for all funds being held by each municipality to operate the current volunteer fire department be handed over to the fire district. The city has about $95,000 to operate the current fire department and the township has about $145,000.

Disputes over funds

Township officials asked the city to kick in an additional $50,000 to make the contributions equal.

Councilman William Williams said he does not think the city should have to come up with an additional $50,000. He said the city has supplied utilities to the fire station, which is in the city, for years and water to put out fires at no cost and with no contribution from the township.

“We have done our part, and we continue to do that. I just don’t think this is fair to the city,” he said.

Township Trustee Fred Hanley said the city is only willing to contribute an equal share to the district. City and township leaders agreed to change the wording to require both sides to contribute equal amounts of seed money.

New tax levy needed

Fire Chief John Clemente said, even with the seed money, the district cannot operate without a tax levy approved by the voters. He said the millage of the levy has yet to be determined, but he hopes to have it on the ballot in November.

The volunteer department currently operates on a 1-mill levy in the city and a 11⁄2-mill levy in the township. Clemente said those levies bring in about $120,000 for the department to operate.

According to Clemente, voters will have to decide on two separate levies for operation of the fire district. One levy will cover the cost of the fire department and the other will cover the cost of operating an ambulance through the fire department.

More involvement wanted

The department currently has eight first responders, four EMTs and one paramedic.

The volunteer department, Clemente said, has 28 volunteer firefighters and will likely grow to 31 volunteers with the creation of the district. He hopes, however, to see the district keep the volunteers and add some full-time firefighters in the next five years along with a new building and a full-time ambulance, and to get more communities involved.

“I am looking five years down the line to get more [communities] involved, maybe get Brookfield, Vienna and Liberty included in this,” he said.

The fire district would be run by a five-person board. The board would include one councilman, one trustee and three members of the community.

Trustees have appointed Trustee Joseph Gleydura and township resident Richard Ridel as township representatives to the board. The city has not made its selections, but city leaders did pass a resolution to include the fire district issue on the agenda for its next meeting.

jgoodwin@vindy.com