Two board members refuse to sign agreement
By SYDNEY KENT
As of midnight on Jan. 1, residents in Jefferson Township will no longer have fire protection after the township board refused to sign a contract with the Ossian Fire Department.
Heated meetings surrounding the topic of fire protection for residents of Jefferson Township outside of Ossian have taken place since April. Monday’s meeting between the parties was no exception.
Historically, the town of Ossian has paid a significantly higher portion of the budget for the Ossian Fire Department — although the township uses an equal portion of the services. Township Trustee Larry Heckber drafted a new contract that would allow both parties to equally share the budget while continuing to retain ownership of their current respective fire trucks and equipment.
Township board members Tim Baker and David Haiflich have refused to sign the new contract for several months. Reasons cited by both board members initially included an unwillingness to pay for manpower, a desire to purchase directly from vendors as needed rather than writing a check to the town, and the fact that they had not seen the budget.
Last month, the board was scheduled to meet and discuss the budget before the Ossian Town Council meeting. Baker and Haiflich did not attend the meeting. Ossian Chief Ben Fenstermaker discussed the specifics of the $251,477 proposed fire budget, also providing a printout for the audience. He again provided the printout during the township board meeting several weeks ago.
On Monday, Baker and Haiflich ultimately agreed to pay 50% of the budget for manpower for 2025, while paying the remainder of the required costs on an ongoing basis. The proposed process would likely include many more months of contentious meetings — a path town council members were unanimously against.
“For 10 months I went to meetings,” Council member Dennis Ealing said. “I was chewed out, yelled at, screamed at and had fists shaken at me.”
The town also offered to send monthly receipts to the townships directly from the vendors of the items or services purchased. However, Baker and Haiflich did not budge. Baker also argued that he wanted to decide when trucks were serviced, to which the crowded room at Collier’s collectively groaned.
“Who is actually taking care of it?” Township board member AJ Springer asked. “The fire department. You’re not going in and taking care of it. What you’re getting at is you want to service it physically.”
“If you guys sign the contract, absolutely nothing is going to change,” Fenstermaker said after raising his hand for nearly a minute. “Nothing is going to change how the trucks get serviced, our operations aren’t going to change, absolutely nothing will change except how the bills are charged.”
Baker also argued that the town should be able to decide if fire protection services are sought elsewhere rather than being simply notified of the decision, a point that was on the contract. Fenstermaker agreed to take it out entirely, noting that he did not mind as he does not intend to provide services elsewhere.
A member of the audience, Darlene Moore, asked the parties if unspent funds from the budget would be used on something else.
“I don’t think you should be allowed to spend the money just because you have the money,” Moore said. “As a group, you should talk about it.”
Multiple council members noted that approval would be needed before spending allocated funds left over in the budget.
Haiflich said that there has not been cooperation with the township. Baker questioned why Fenstermaker notified the town of the need to purchase new air packs several months ago but did not notify the township.
“Like I told you,” Fenstermaker said. “Why would I communicate with you when you were going to other places to find coverage?”
The township board will meet at 5:30 p.m. today at the Norwell Central Office to discuss the 2025 budget. Heckber told the council that the possibility of the township signing the contract was not positive during the council meeting, however, he has until October to reach an agreement.
The Ossian Fire Department posted a call to the community on Facebook after the meeting, urging those in Jefferson Township to attend.
“Your elected officials once again refused to sign a contract with the Town of Ossian,” Fenstermaker continued in the post. “January 1, 2025, at midnight, YOU WILL NOT HAVE FIRE PROTECTION. Make your elected officials answer your questions.”
sydney@news-banner.com
