By SYDNEY KENT
Heated arguments continued with no resolution between the Ossian Town Council and the Jefferson Township Advisory Board during Monday evening’s council meeting.
The parties have been in negotiations for a new fire contract that would allow both sides to equally pay for the Ossian Fire Department’s operating budget. The department provides an equal share of runs to both the town and the township.
Board member AJ Springer asked the council if they would be willing to pay the township and allow the township to pay the fire department. During a meeting earlier this month, member David Haiflich said a resident had posed the question.
The town held firm in its position to keep the contract as it is, with the town paying the fire department, and the township paying the town.
Council President Josh Barkley advised that the reason for this was the 10-month-long feud between the parties. Township board president Tim Baker and council member Dennis Ealing argued over the semantics of the length of time they spent arguing before Barkley interjected.
“At the last meeting, I asked multiple times if you had questions on the budget,” Barkley said. “His response was no. And in the agreement, we made the changes that you asked for.”
“You didn’t have the fire budget at the time,” Baker claimed. Haiflich agreed, stating that the board was not presented with the budget.
Multiple members of the council corrected the statement, reminding the board members that the fire budget had been presented at a joint meeting that both Baker and Haiflich chose not to attend. Springer, who attended the meeting and reviewed the fire budget with the council, advised his fellow board members did in fact receive the budget.
“I emailed you guys the budget the very next day,” Springer said.
Several members of the council and board overlapped in an echo chamber of arguments that had been discussed at prior meetings for months.
“Do you have any other questions?” Barkley asked through the palavering. “You have a signed contract we’ve accepted and we’re not going back on that contract. I am not going through this circus — this is a flat-out circus.”
Haiflich reiterated that he asked for a sit-down meeting, to which Barkley reminded him he had a sit-down meeting scheduled last month. Ealing claimed Haiflich and Baker are attempting to stall negotiations until time runs out to sign the new contract — in hopes that the township only pays a portion of their responsibility for the fire budget once again.
“I am tired of you wasting the taxpayers’ time,” Barkley yelled through the noise. “The contract stands, along with our budget and the letter. Dec. 31, we will need to know where to park the fire trucks.”
“You’ll know,” Haiflich said before walking out of the meeting with Baker.
At the end of the meeting, a resident asked why the town was not willing to look at the township’s contract.
“Why didn’t we get a new contract three months ago if that was their intention?” member Jeff Kemper asked. “My problem is (that) we have a clerk and a whole staff that handles –”
“I’m talking about the contract they want to present,” the resident interjected. “They have a new one and wanted to present it tonight.”
Springer advised the woman that the board had not drafted a new contract. Ealing reiterated that by the time the township board finalizes a contract to bring it to the town, it will be too late.
“They also had the opportunity to bring us those suggestions at last month’s meeting,” member Stephanie Tucker noted. “We made changes they specifically wanted, and they should have asked for that in that meeting.”
The Jefferson Township Advisory Board is scheduled to meet at 6 p.m. on Thursday at the Northern Wells Central Office.
sydney@news-banner.com
