Fire chief requests New Haven Hose to be line item on city budget
CONNELLSVILLE — Bob Topper, chief of the New Haven Hose Co., officially requested on Wednesday night for City Council to include the fire company as a line item on the city budget for the upcoming year.
Topper requested a line item of $60,000 to be specifically earmarked for the mortgage payment on the fire station and to make payments on the new fire truck.
“We need the community’s support,” Topper said. “We need council’s support.”
Topper said this was the first time he requested such an action on the part of the city. He said it’s his intent to improve the city’s current International Services Office (ISO) rating.
The ISO is an association of insurance companies that rates the nearly 44,000 municipal fire departments and fire protection districts across the country. The departments are rated on a one-to-10 basis, with one being the best fire protection rating and 10 indicating the fire service agency does not meet the ISO criteria. The ratings are based on water supply, manpower, response time, training and equipment along with alarm and paging systems. In 2003, when the last ISO rating was completed, Connellsville was given a five rating.
“My personal belief is we can get it to a four,” Topper said. “That needs to be the goal going forward.”
According to Topper, every step up or down represents an 8 percent increase or decrease in the amount of money property owners pay for fire insurance.
“What we’re asking for is not too much,” he said. “Preferably we’d like to have this in a millage under ordinance so that we can budget for these items and be proactive and look forward to how to best serve the city, and how to best work toward bringing our ISO rating down to save the property owners of the city even more money.”
Topper said it seems the fire company has become a “political football.”
At last month’s council meeting, the fire company’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) allocation came into question.
“It’s not a matter of what New Haven Hose costs the city — it’s a matter of what New Haven Hose saves the city,” Topper said. “New Haven Hose has saved the city over $10 million — at least $700,000 a year.”
Also Wednesday, council extended the contract with the city’s fire department with the same terms and conditions, for a period of one year, commencing on Jan. 1, 2014 and ending on Dec. 31, 2014.
Prior to council’s unanimous decision to extend the contract, Aaron Zolbrod, of Connellsville, questioned the value in keeping a one man fire department, and instead suggested the city allocate the money to New Haven Hose.
In an unrelated matter, City Treasurer Judy Keller requested that council set dates to discuss the 2014 budget.
Keller reminded council that the city needs to pay back a $675,000 tax anticipation loan at the end of the year, and asked if council has considered the possibility of raising taxes, cutting back services, or borrowing more money from the bank.
“We’ve considered all three of those things,” said Councilman Brad Geyer, director of public finance.
In other business, council:
n Executed three orders from the Connellsville Health Board to demolish properties at 916 Aetna St., 108-110 Gallatin Ave. and 1018-1020 Aetna St.
n Placed an invitation for bid for the sale of any city interest in three properties. Bids are to be received no later than 4 p.m. on Oct. 14, and they will be opened at 7 p.m. on Oct. 16 at City Hall.
n Set Dec. 31 as the final day to pay 2012 city per capita taxes to the local tax office. After that date, the delinquent 2012 taxes will be turned over to Berkheimer for collection and additional fines and penalties.
n Set trick-or-treat in the city from 4-6 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 27.
n Accepted the resignation of Kenneth Brooks from the Recreation Board effective Sept. 1 and appointed Matthew Ptacek to the board effective Sept. 1, with term to expire Jan. 1, 2014.