First of all, the township has fire protection through Dec. 31, 2024 with the town of Ossian. Second, Dennis Ealing, Ossian town board member, and Trustee Larry Heckber keep saying that Jefferson Township will not pay half of the town’s $200,000 fire budget. The town’s budget and the township budget is available online at lndianaGateway.com.
The town’s budget for fire protection is $152,128 not $200,000. The township budget for fire protection is $79,000. But, the township also has a fire debt for a fire engine we are still paying for of $52,690 per year.
The town has one line item in their fire protection budget that is hydrant rental of $29,133. This is Ossian fire department paying Ossian water department for this hydrant rental. So if you do the math on what the town of Ossian is paying for fire protection and the township is paying for fire protection…
Town of Ossian Jefferson Township
Budget: $152,128 Budget: $79,000
Hydrant Fire truck
rental: -29,133 payment 52,690
(budgeted number)
Total: $122,995 Total: $131,690
The township was billed $28,677.44 for hydrant rental. This is against the townships current contract for fire protection with the town of Ossian.
Trustee Heckber wants the township to just write a check to the town and let them pay the fire protection bills. This is against our current contract. The contract was drawn up like it is, so we pay our own township fire protection bills. This would include fire trucks, fuel for trucks, insurance, maintenance, and firefighting equipment. This is done this way so if the township is told they are going to have their fire protection discontinued the township has some fire equipment and fire fighting items to have for bargaining and not just a bunch of receipts where we paid for fire protection.
In the current contract, the Town of Ossian provides the firefighters and the township buys equipment.
The town of Ossian or Dennis should have talked to the township board before sending the township a bill for fire hydrant rental which is against the current contract. Trustee Heckber should have talked to the board before paying the bill of $28,677.44 since that goes against our current contract.
Basically, the fire protection budget from the town of Ossian is being misrepresented as $200,000 when it is actually $152,128. Also, it is misrepresented that the township does not want to pay their share.
This situation has nothing to do with Ossian Firemen. They provide the community with excellent service. I know and the town knows that this arrangement is the best service for fire protection and the most reasonably priced.
I am willing to sit down as a board member and look at the bills that are paid for fire protection. If there is not enough equipment, fuel, insurance, and maintenance bills that we can use our $79,000 budgeted money, then maybe we can consider rewriting part of the fire contract. But, the first thing that the township needs is to be repaid the hydrant rental.
This is my opinion and I am one of three board members, so this is solely my view. We work as a board, so there will be other input on this.
Tim Baker
Jefferson Township Advisory Board Member
