Announcement on fire contracts 'forthcoming' from administration

Trustees from four area townships are seeking to meet with members of the Hillsboro City Council to see if they can reach an agreement regarding EMS and fire services. A proposed city fire district is apparently now off the table, and a contract for services has been extended to at least one township.

Hillsboro City Council President Lee Koogler said that he is hopeful that an agreement can be reached that would benefit all involved parties, but that it is not the role of council to negotiate contracts for the city.

However, Koogler said that he anticipates that additional information on the negotiations and contract will be "forthcoming" from the city administration.

Any emergency services contract or district the Hillsboro administration would either enter into or form would need the approval of council.

In negotiations with the city, trustees of Hamer, Jackson, Liberty, New Market, Paint and Washington townships had asked Hillsboro for a multi-year contract for EMS and fire protection. The city said earlier this year that they would no longer offer contracts for those services, and in order to receive services from Hillsboro Fire and Rescue, the townships would have to join a district with the city.

For approximately two months, a representative from each township and their legal counsel Highland County Prosecutor Anneka Collins met on a weekly basis with members of the Hillsboro city administration and its legal counsel.

On April 27, the city told the townships that the cutoff date for joining the district was May 18.

In the past week, some townships have announced that they are not in agreement with the city's terms of the fire district, and so they have sought to form a fire district of their own, without the city.

In March, Paint Township joined the Paint Creek Joint EMS and Fire District, and last week Hamer Township voted to join the Lynchburg Area Joint Fire and Ambulance District.

Washington and New Market townships held public meetings earlier this week for residents to express their opinions and ask questions over the pending safety services. In unofficial show-of-hands votes, residents at those meetings voted to not join the city's proposed district.

Collins said the townships wanted stability for their emergency services, which would include a contract that would be for multiple years.

On Monday night, at approximately 9 p.m. according to Liberty Township Trustee Jerry Williams, Hillsboro Mayor Drew Hastings contacted him, saying that he would extend a contract only to Liberty Township.

Less than 24 hours later, during a public meeting for Liberty Township residents, Liberty Trustee John McLaughlin said that he had spoken to Hastings and that the city would no longer be seeking to form a district, and a contract would be offered to only Liberty Township.

Last week, according to Collins, Washington Township Trustees spoke with the administration asking them to reconsider offering a contract, and that request was refused. 

Koogler told The Highland County Press that while he has spoken to Collins, a meeting date has not yet been set.

"I have spoken with the mayor and the prosecutor and we're exploring some options about how to bring the parties together," Koogler said.

Throughout the negotiation process, the trustees had nothing but praise for the staff of Hillsboro Fire and Rescue, with many saying the services they provide are second to none. Koogler said Wednesday that he shared those sentiments.

"I think our fire and EMS is a quality services," Koogler said. "It is a service I don't want to seek us take away from the townships. We want to meet responsibly our financial obligations, and to do something that is ultimately fair to all concerned. That would be my goal as president of council."

Collins said that while a meeting with council members has not been scheduled, that is what the trustees have requested and they will be asking council to meet.

Council's regularly scheduled meeting is Monday, May 14 at 7 p.m. in the Hillsboro Municipal Courtroom at the Highland County Justice Center.

Jackson Township has their regularly scheduled meeting Monday evening, with a portion set aside for public comments on the fire contracts. Other township trustees have told The Highland County Press that they intend to attend the Hillsboro council meeting.

Koogler said that while city council would be happy to meet with the trustees and hear the concerns of local residents, negotiating contracts is not the function of council. That is a responsibility that falls to the city administration.

The safety and service director can enter into contracts for less than $25,000, but larger contracts require the authorization of council.

"Council's role is not to negotiate contracts," Koogler said, although they can offer input. "Though any process they can tell the administration if they're barking up the wrong tree, so to speak, or say 'We're not going to approve that.' We would be happy to meet with the trustees, but it's not our job to negotiate contracts. It's our job to approve the contracts."

When asked if it was council's wishes to refuse an extended contracting situation, Koogler said that wasn't necessarily their intent, and that the matter is open for discussion.

"I can't say that has been the wish of council, and I can't speak for council as a whole," Koogler said. "Each member can say what they want. The position of council is that we like the idea of looking at a fire district. If that is not something that is workable at this time, we would like to explore options. Hopefully that is the place we're getting. It's tough when working with time frames, and we'll do the best within the framework that we have. We all know that discussion between the townships and administration are ahead." 

Some of the issues the trustees had with the city's terms of the fire district included:

• They do not believe the voters of Hillsboro would pass a levy to support the district.

• The city wants to have three representatives on the district's board of trustees while the townships each get one. Smaller townships such as Washington and Jackson would potentially only get one representative for the two townships.
• The fire district may have to keep the current contract that Hillsboro has with its firefighters' union.
• The district would have to pay the estimated $137,000 a year, for 18 years, on the debt that is left on the city's bond for the fire station. However, once it is paid off, the city would own the building, not the fire district. 
Koogler said Wednesday, "I think at this point council has concerns for anybody that we currently provide services to, and are open to discussion on what future we may have together. I have discussed that with Mayor Hastings several times. We have had quite a few conversations, and I think that there may be some other information forthcoming.

"Certainly council is always happy to hear from the constituents we serve and the people we affect," Koogler said. "In regards to the continued issues with the fire and EMS district with remaining townships, I believe there will be coming coming from the administration that will address that, based on a recent phone call I had with the mayor."

Koogler said that he was not at liberty to discuss further what that announcement might entail.