Washington Township will not join fire district with Hillsboro
The Washington Township Board of Trustees said that no definite decisions have been made for the future of their EMS and fire protection services, except that they will not be joining a proposed fire district with the city of Hillsboro.
Washington Township Trustee Arthur Harless said that approximately 40 people turned out Saturday evening for a public forum the trustees scheduled to gauge public opinion on the EMS and fire services.
"We didn't make a decision, except that we would not be going with Hillsboro on creating a fire district," Harless said. "That was about the only sure thing that was decided."
Anneka Collins, legal counsel to the townships, has said the city has stated they will no longer contract for EMS/fire services with the townships as of 2013. The options the townships currently have are joining a new proposed fire district with the city of Hillsboro, joining in on the creation of a new fire district with the other townships, or joining or contracting with another fire department or district.
In March Paint Township joined the Paint Creek Joint EMS and Fire District, and on Thursday Hamer Township unofficially decided to join the Lynchburg Joint Fire and Ambulance District.
[[In-content Ad]]
In addition to Washington, Liberty, New Market and Jackson townships are considering forming their own district together, but without the city of Hillsboro. Official figures have not been released on the proposed districts, and official decisions have not yet been made by any of the remaining townships.
For 2012, the townships pay $22 per person to the city of Hillsboro for EMS/fire services. Collins said the city's district could be between 5.2 mills to 5.5 mills. A term of the proposed fire district with Hillsboro is that the city would retain ownership of the fire station on North East Street, but district funds would be used toward paying off the 18-year bond on the structure at $134,000 per year. Additionally it was proposed the city have three representatives on the district's board of trustees, while the townships would each have one.
Members of the city administration have not returned calls to The Highland County Press seeking comment on the matter.
The townships had a May 18 deadline to inform the city if they were going to go with their district or not, according to Collins.
Harless said Washington Township was concerned if the residents of Hillsboro would pass a levy to fund the fire district, which was a factor in their decision.
"We're still looking at forming a district with three, maybe four townships," Harless said. "We may try to go with Marshall. There are still a lot of things to work out, and we want to see what the other townships are going to do, which is one of the reasons we haven't made any decisions yet. We wanted to hear what the people had to say."
The regularly scheduled monthly Washington Township meeting is Monday evening. New Market Township is holding a public forum Monday at 7 p.m. at the Hopewell Center at 5350 West New Market Road. Liberty Township will hold a public meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday evening at Hills and Dales. Hamer Township will also hold their regular monthly meeting on Monday.
Jackson Township has not yet scheduled a public forum.