Mayor reportedly offers fire/EMS contract to Liberty WATCH THE VIDEO

Joining a proposed fire district with the city of Hillsboro, or seeking EMS and fire protection serves elsewhere, have been the only two options some area township trustees have been given by the city for the past two months. But, a late-night phone call from the Mayor of Hillsboro altered those options this week, and left trustees with a new decision and limited information regarding the future of their emergency protection services.

According to Hillsboro Township trustees, Hillsboro Mayor Drew Hastings contacted them at approximately 9 p.m. Monday and said the city was willing to contract with them for EMS and Fire services. However, that is an offer that is being extended only to Liberty, and not to New Market, Washington or Jackson townships.

Area residents, and township trustees have stated their intent to go to the Hillsboro City Council during their scheduled meeting May 14 to speak to them directly, and ask for answers.

During a public meeting held Tuesday evening at Hills and Dales Training Center for the purpose of gauging public opinion on the future of EMS and fire services, some trustees said that negotiating with the administration of the city of Hillsboro has been "difficult" and that they "expect us to be subservient."

Trustees said they feel the best thing for township residents is to seek stability and longevity for EMS and fire protection services.

Many residents said they want the townships to go back to the city to seek a contract for the services, because the cost of a new fire district will be high, and they also don't want to compromise on the quality services that are currently provided by Hillsboro Fire and Rescue.

The city has previously stated that they will no longer contract with Jackson, Hamer, Liberty, New Market, Paint and Washington Townships for EMS and fire services as of 2013. The townships were told they could join a fire district with the city, or go elsewhere for services.

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

Liberty, Jackson, New Market and Washington have not yet made a decision.

On Friday, April 27, the city communicated that the cutoff date for joining Hillsboro's proposed fire district was May 18.

In response, some townships began the process of starting their own fire district, and currently are asking residents how they should proceed.

But, following Hastings' phone call to the Liberty Trustees - which was less than 24 hours before Tuesday's meeting - their options have been altered.

"I've talked with the mayor, and I think the proposal of forming a fire district with the city of Hillsboro is gone," Liberty Township Board of Trustees President John McLaughlin said during Tuesday's meeting.

McLaughlin was joined by fellow trustees Jerry Williams and Steve Lerch, fiscal officer Jolene Walker, and legal counsel, Highland County Prosecutor Anneka Collins.

When McLaughlin said that the district with the city was no longer and option, Collins and Williams said that was the first time they'd heard the city had rescinded that option.

"I talked to the mayor today and he said he would still like to have Liberty Township," McLaughlin said. "But he has to get some figures calculated to see what they would have to propose on the rate they would charge."

Williams said he's spoken to Hastings late Tuesday night regarding the contract, but that he didn't know the district was not longer an option.

Williams asked Collins to explain the history of the negotiations regarding the services, which date back to May 2010 [See Sidebar].

Collins and the trustees said they felt it was in the best interest of the townships to seek a contract with longevity, for three to five years, but that has been rejected by the city on several occastions.

The trustees and Collins praised the services provided by Hillsboro Fire and Rescue, and said that the difficulty in working with the administration, and the city's requirements going into a fire district, are the reasons why they would seek alternatives to Hillsboro.

Collins said that she doesn't know what happened Monday night to change the mayor's mind, but that last week trustees from Washington Township went to Hastings to ask for a reconsideration of the contract, and they were declined.

Williams said that staying with Hillsboro would save a lot of work, and would be easier, and that he realizes many people want to seek to continue the contracting agreement. But, that is an option that has only been on the table for less than 24 hours.

"In two years, three years, are we going to go down this same old road again?" Williams said. "Let's face it, Hillsboro wants to try to get some money from us. That's what they're after. We're having trouble getting a levy passed. Yeah, we've got some in escrow. We're in a hard spot. Until less than 24 hours ago, they hadn't talked to us in a month. Nothing. Absolutely nothing, until they started seeing these other places dropping off, other places going to other districts, and then boom, 'Oh, we want to talk now.'Is this going to go anywhere? I don't have a clue."

Jeff Bain, a Hillsboro firefighter, speaking out as a resident of Liberty Township, said, "We all have to decide as groups what is best for our townships, our district, the best interest of our citizens. I think it was just flat out handled wrong. But we can't fix what happened two years ago and was thrown out by another administration. We thought come January, with the extensions, we thought that would all be better. Who knows, at this point in time, how it's going to be."

Regarding figures for the district, it was pointed out that a per-person charge for services, and an increase in millage to support a district, is not an apples-to apples comparison.

Liberty Township residents are currently not paying for fire services, as a 1.8-mill replacement levy was failed twice by voters, most recently in the November 2011 general election.

Walker said there is approximately $520,000 in the fire reserve fund, but $80,000 will go to Hillsboro for the 2012 fire/EMS contract. The townships are paying $22 per residents for 2012 services.

The 1.8-mill levy would have brought in approximately $115,000, Walker said, which is approximately $56.70 per year on a $100,000 appraised property.

The city had not given official figures regarding their proposed fire district, but Collins has said it would be approximately what the townships' fire district would need to operate - a levy between 5.2 and 5.5 mills. Based on the populations of New Market, Liberty, Jackson and Washington Township, that would unofficially be approximately $92 per person.

One resident asked what would happen if the levy - for either a city fire district or a township fire district - would fail.

"I think the trustees would try to beg, borrow and steal to find you fire and EMS protection, but the short answer is, I don't know what you would do," Collins said.

Collins added that the trustees believe there is "no incentive" for voters in Hillsboro to pass a levy, because they currently pay for fire services through the city's earnings tax. The earnings tax is paid by people who work in the city, regardless of their residency.

There is the potential, she said, the townships could be without the services if a levy would not pass.

"We need some direction from you guys," Collins said. "You are the ones who are going to be receiving the services, and you're the ones who are going to be paying for it."

Several people said that if Hillsboro was offering the contract now, that the trustees should explore it rather than the district. Toward the end of the meeting, a citizen asked if they could vote on the matter. A clear majority of hands showed that most were in favor of exploring the contract option.

Trustees said they would seek the information, and would schedule another public meeting in the coming weeks. At the trustees' request, Collins said that she would be setting up a meeting with the Hillsboro City Council.

Collins said it has always been her counsel to the trustees to explore all the options they have.

"If the mayor is suddenly willing to offer them a contract, certainly they should investigate that," Collins said. "The idea of a short-term fix is what has been so bad for so long. I think I can speak for all the trustees when I say the fact that it's short term is what's been wrong with it for so long. We don't mind paying more for something that is long term, that's stable, that we don't have to renegotiate every three months. It's no more comfortable for us to read in the paper whether or not we have fire and EMS services than it is for you to read in the paper whether or not we have fire and EMS service. So, certainly, they should explore that option, but I know everyone wants something that is long term, not something that puts a Band-Aid on it."

Williams said that he had nothing but praise for Hillsboro Fire and Rescue, and thanked them specifically for responding to a recent emergency incident with his mother. However, his problem is with the administration.

"It's nothing against Hillsboro," Williams said. "It's the administration. Why call me the night before a meeting and throw this all on me? And where does that leave the other townships that we've been talking with and trying to work something out? All of a sudden, here at the last second, the mayor wants to do something. He didn't go into particulars or what he was really looking at ... Do I have a few problems with the way things are run up there? Yes. I don't like the debt, $1.6 - $1.7 million dollars, and at the end of it we don't own the building? They get three on the board and we're only allowed one. Who's going to run it? It's obvious."

One township resident said, "You can sit back and wait for the city of Hillsboro to present you with some figures or, as counsel (Collins) said, you're happy to pay more for the services ... Why don't you take a proposal to them?"

Collins said they have submitted their own proposals, which have been rejected.

"We have told them face to face we will pay more than $27 a person if it's for more than a year," Collins said. "Last night was the first time they talked to a township trustee and said, 'We will do a contract with you.' Prior to that, they said, 'No way.'"

"It's very difficult to work with (Hastings)," Williams said. "I'm going to be honest with you. It just changes so much, and this and that. I just felt like you folks needed to know about it."

Lerch said the administration has been, "difficult, demanding, expecting us to be subservient to them, and also expect us to pay their bills for their bad business decisions, which the last administration brought a lot of it on. We wouldn't mind joining up with them if they'd just lay their cards on the table."

Liberty Township resident Robyn Coomer said that she didn't want to have to pay more money, or have emergency services compromised because of "an attitude problem."

"Do we pay a lot more money for service because Drew is a hard-to-deal-with kind of guy? Or previous administration?" Coomer asked. "Are we playing games here? Get the proposal in writing, talk to us about it so we can make an informed decision. Everybody in this town should call Drew up tomorrow and get on him. Let's get something done about it, because I don't want my house to burn down because somebody's got an attitude problem. And I don't want to pay more money, either, because of games."

Hillsboro firefighter Dave Snider Jr., speaking as a Liberty Township resident, said, "The city cannot afford to do it on their own. They may say they can, but they cannot. (Budget wise, the city is starting to feel) the effects of the townships leaving. I personally know what revenue comes in from the townships. With them changing their mind now, use that to your advantage to push for the long-term thing that you want - and if you want to bring your buddies along (New Market, Jackson, Washington townships) make that part of the deal."

The following amounts are owed for 2012 by the remaining townships: Jackson - $24,068; Liberty - $80,014; New Market - $41,536; Washington - $24,706.

Walker said that additionally, the city has approximately $100,000 in revenue from "soft billing" insurance companies for EMS runs in the townships.

Former Liberty Township Trustee Jim Grove said the contracting arrangement with the city has worked for years, and there's no reason why it shouldn't be able to continue.

"I'm going to be honest about how serious this is," Grove said. "This is pretty important to Liberty Township and the city of Hillsboro. I think the trustees, the city, everyone who's involved - council especially - put your big boy pants on, try to negotiate this thing, and get the personal thing clear out of it. This has worked for year and years in Hillsboro. There's no reason it can't continue to work."