Newell voters oppose fire department tax
NEWELL – Voters in the borough turned out to oppose a ballot measure that would have established a tax to support the Newell Volunteer Fire Company. According to unofficial election results, 125 people voted against the tax, while 58 people voted in favor of it.
Fire Chief Joseph Dandrea Jr. previously said the company was requesting the tax to help with maintaining the fire hall and equipment and to pay for insurances.
He said insurance costs have gone up, and last year, the expenditures for the fire company were greater than the amount of revenue it generated.
Dandrea said the fire tax would help save money for elderly people in the neighborhood who carried a lot of the weight of keeping the department running by donations.
Dandrea was not available for comment after the results were posted.