Townships request negotiations of fire contracts WATCH THE VIDEO
Lead Summary
By
Brandy Chandler-brandychandler@gmail.com
The finance committee and the street and safety committee of the Hillsboro City Council will review proposed fire contracts between the city of Hillsboro and surrounding townships, after more than 20 township representatives turned out for the council meeting Monday evening.
Highland County Prosecutor Jim Grandey, legal counsel for the townships, addressed council on behalf of the group, and said that in the new contracts townships have been billed for EMS runs, while it is prohibited EMS runs be paid for out of strictly fire levy funds.
"The reason I called and asked that Mr. (council president Lee) Koogler put us on the agenda is the new contracts have come out and we have some concerns," Grandey told council. "We're not here to negotiate on behalf of all seven townships"
The seven townships include Hamer, Jackson, Liberty, New Market, Paint, Penn and Washington. During the May council meeting, council went into executive session regarding “security” and upon entering back into regular session voted 6-0 to authorize Hillsboro Safety and Service Director Ralph Holt to negotiate new contracts for fire services with townships in Highland County.
Liberty Township fiscal officer Jolene Walker previously told The Highland Count Press that the increases were going to be a hardship for the townships and that “The increases for the townships’ fire contracts are between 42 percent and 76.34 percent.”
Grandey told council that the townships appreciate everything the city has done, "But we do have some concerns with the new contract, besides the rate increase. We're not saying rates shouldn't go up, we have some concerns there. One of the other problems we see is that for the first time, in black and white, it shows one of the percentages used to figure out how much the increase should be for each contract is EMS runs. And I'm not sure if council was aware of this or not, but unless a township either has a fire and EMS levy, or a separate fire and separate EMS levy, they are prohibited for paying for EMS services out of just the fire levy. Not all townships have EMS levies and that is a concern."
Grandey asked Koogler to place the matter in the finance committee so that a representative from each township can sit down with council members and go over the matter thoroughly.
Grandey said the representatives want to "Sit down with your committee, share our concerns, get your feedback and try to work out a contract for each township that we all can all live with."
The townships will face issues in paying for increases to the contracts, Grandey said, as it is too late to put a levy on for the general election. The earliest, he said, the issue would go to voters is 2011, which means the townships would not collect additional funds until 2012.
"We're not saying the contracts shouldn't be raised," Grandey said. "We're just saying, 'let's talk a little bit.' Because some of these increases are very, very significant at this point."
Koogler agreed with Grandey's request to put the matter into committee, the finance and street and safety, and Koogler said he hoped all council members would participate. Finance committee chairperson Peter Pence said he would get with Grandey's office and schedule dates later this week, and a
"Obvious time is of the essence because, I believe, the contracts expire at the end of the year," Koogler said.
"Like I said, we appreciate everything the city has done for us," Grandey said. "We have no problems with the service."
Gesturing toward several firefighters from Hillsboro Fire and Rescue, Grandey said, "These gentlemen standing back here do a fantastic job and we do appreciate them. It's just right now we're facing -everyone is facing - some hard times. The timing is a problem here too."
No township trustees said anything to council, and other than some minor discussion on setting a meeting time and date, council did not comment.
The finance committee and the street and safety committee of the Hillsboro City Council will review proposed fire contracts between the city of Hillsboro and surrounding townships, after more than 20 township representatives turned out for the council meeting Monday evening.
Highland County Prosecutor Jim Grandey, legal counsel for the townships, addressed council on behalf of the group, and said that in the new contracts townships have been billed for EMS runs, while it is prohibited EMS runs be paid for out of strictly fire levy funds.
"The reason I called and asked that Mr. (council president Lee) Koogler put us on the agenda is the new contracts have come out and we have some concerns," Grandey told council. "We're not here to negotiate on behalf of all seven townships"
The seven townships include Hamer, Jackson, Liberty, New Market, Paint, Penn and Washington. During the May council meeting, council went into executive session regarding “security” and upon entering back into regular session voted 6-0 to authorize Hillsboro Safety and Service Director Ralph Holt to negotiate new contracts for fire services with townships in Highland County.
Liberty Township fiscal officer Jolene Walker previously told The Highland County Press that the increases were going to be a hardship for the townships and that “The increases for the townships’ fire contracts are between 42 percent and 76.34 percent.”
Grandey told council that the townships appreciate everything the city has done, "But we do have some concerns with the new contract, besides the rate increase. We're not saying rates shouldn't go up, we have some concerns there. One of the other problems we see is that for the first time, in black and white, it shows one of the percentages used to figure out how much the increase should be for each contract is EMS runs. And I'm not sure if council was aware of this or not, but unless a township either has a fire and EMS levy, or a separate fire and separate EMS levy, they are prohibited for paying for EMS services out of just the fire levy. Not all townships have EMS levies and that is a concern."
Grandey asked Koogler to place the matter in the finance committee so that a representative from each township can sit down with council members and go over the matter thoroughly.
Grandey said the representatives want to "Sit down with your committee, share our concerns, get your feedback and try to work out a contract for each township that we all can all live with."
The townships will face issues in paying for increases to the contracts, Grandey said, as it is too late to put a levy on for the general election. The earliest, he said, the issue would go to voters is 2011, which means the townships would not collect additional funds until 2012.
"We're not saying the contracts shouldn't be raised," Grandey said. "We're just saying, 'let's talk a little bit.' Because some of these increases are very, very significant at this point."
Koogler agreed with Grandey's request to put the matter into committee, the finance and street and safety, and Koogler said he hoped all council members would participate. Finance committee chairperson Peter Pence said he would get with Grandey's office and schedule dates later this week, and a
"Obviously, time is of the essence because, I believe, the contracts expire at the end of the year," Koogler said.
"Like I said, we appreciate everything the city has done for us," Grandey said. "We have no problems with the service."
Gesturing toward several firefighters from Hillsboro Fire and Rescue, Grandey said, "These gentlemen standing back here do a fantastic job and we do appreciate them. It's just right now we're facing - everyone is facing - some hard times. The timing is a problem here, too."
No township trustees said anything to council, and other than some minor discussion on setting a meeting time and date, council did not comment.
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