Hopewell Valley voters approve three fire budgets

In Hopewell Township, incumbent William Walker and John Holcombe were elected to three-year terms on the Hopewell Township Board of Fire Commissioners, defeating Larry Omland and Tim Lang.

By John Tredrea
   Budgets for all three Hopewell Valley fire districts were approved Saturday, when fire district elections were held statewide.
   The tax rate in all three districts — Hopewell Township and Pennington and Hopewell boroughs — will stay the same as last year.
   Approved in the township along with the budget was a separate ballot question on a new ambulance for Union Rescue Squad, based on Route 29 in Titusville.
   In the township, incumbent William Walker and John Holcombe were elected to three-year terms on the Hopewell Township Board of Fire Commissioners, defeating Larry Omland and Tim Lang. Mr. Holcombe led the four candidates in amount of votes received with 146. Mr. Walker had 105. Messrs. Omland and Lang had 85 and 77 respectively.
   The vote on the township’s 2003 fire district budget was 143 "yes" to 89 "no." Approval of the $1,982,718 budget means a fire tax rate of 8 cents per $100 of assessed property value, the same as last year. A $142,000 ballot question on the ambulance for Union Rescue was approved 150-83. The ambulance will replace an 11-year-old vehicle.
   Hopewell Borough’s fire district budget of $403,700 was approved unanimously, 34-0. Budget approval means a fire tax rate of 8 cents, the same as last year. The township, a large portion of which is covered by Hopewell Fire Department, will cover $283,591 of that borough’s fire budget. Borough taxes will pay for the balance.
   In Hopewell Borough, incumbent Al Hart and Paul Evans, running unopposed, were elected fire commissioners, with 28 and 33 votes respectively. John Novak, a former chief of the Hopewell Fire Department, received two write-in votes.
   Under an agreement similar to the one with Hopewell Borough, the township also is committed to paying $194,701 of the Pennington Borough fire district’s $320,144 budget, with Pennington taxes covering the rest. The Pennington budget was approved 17-0 in the election Saturday.
   Gene Schooley Jr., running as a write-in, was elected to the Pennington Board of Fire Commissioners with 16 votes. Mr. Schooley is a former chief of the Pennington Fire Company. The Pennington fire tax rate will be 5 cents, same as last year.