UPPER FREEHOLD – A letter from the chairman of Hope Fire Company’s Building Finance Committee has members of the governing body all fired up.
James Van Horn, of Allentown, wrote a letter stating that the township’s decision to reduce payment to Hope Fire Company (HFC) in 2006 and 2007 has resulted in a $40,000 loss of income.
Deputy Mayor William Miscoski called Van Horn’s letter “upsetting, inaccurate nonsense.”
He said that in the 15 years he has served on the governing body, the township has always given the fire company what it wanted.
“Van Horn’s letter is cutting off the hand that feeds them and has been for 15 years,” Miscoski said.
Van Horn wrote that in 2006 the township asked HFC to convert its radio room into an office for a daytime inspection crew.
“We tore out perfectly good countertops and cabinets and [the township] in turn installed [its] own to meet [its] own needs,” Van Horn said. “Upon completion of the renovation, the township cut $20,000 of the fire company’s income.”
Van Horn further alleged in the letter that when HFC could not pay the township for fuel for the fire trucks, the township responded, “Pay the bill or we’ll cut off your funding.”
Committee members vehemently denied Van Horn’s allegation.
“I would like the name from HFC of the person in this town who made that statement,” Miscoski said.
Township Administrator Barbara Bascom also called the allegation inaccurate and said that no one told the HFC that the township would cut off funding.
Miscoski, the manager of the Cream Ridge Golf Club, and Committeeman David Reed, the owner of Reed’s Sod Farm, said they have made substantial contributions to HFC in the past but would not give another nickel after reading Van Horn’s letter. Both committeemen said they have nothing against fire company volunteers.
“They are great guys,” Miscoski said. “A lot of them are my friends. I’m knocking the guys at the top pulling the purse strings.”
Miscoski said the township should look into creating a fire district.
Reed said the volunteers do an “unbelievable” job.
“It doesn’t make sense for us to get a letter like this, kicking us with false statements,” he said. “It’s very frustrating.”
Miscoski said the township bought the HFC a $209,000 tanker but could have bought a used tanker for $6,000 from a dairy farm going out of business. Miscoski alleged that the latter was not purchased because “it wouldn’t look pretty in a parade.” He said he never thought the HFC would send the township such a letter when Allentown, which is also part of the company’s coverage area, doesn’t give the company “manure.”
Committeeman Stephen Alexander, a liaison to the HFC along with Reed, said committeemen are angry because the “HFC apparently did not go to Allentown to ask [the township] for additional money for a recently hired fifth firefighter.”
Township Attorney Granville Magee said the Township Committee has always been very generous and responsive to the firemen’s needs. He said the town has spent “an awful lot” of money for the fire company.
Bascom said that state statute limits the amount of money the township can give to HFC to $90,000 per year but that the township approves vouchers for HFC equipment and has bought all the company’s major equipment.
Miscoski said the township currently has a resolution before it to buy HFC a brush truck for $140,000. He alleged that the township had contacted Allentown about a contribution for the truck and the response was, “We’re not paying a nickel.”
Allentown Mayor Stuart Fierstein said that Upper Freehold has historically been against creating fire districts because doing so adds a separate tax that the municipality would have no control over. He estimated that Upper Freehold residents spend 4 cents per $100 of assessed value on HFC and borough residents pay 10 cents per $100 of assessed value.
In 200 Allentown paid for 24 percent of HFC costs and had 11 percent of the calls, according to Fierstein.
Fierstein said Municipal Fire Protection Consultants, of the Adelphia section of Howell, conducted a study in 1999 that looked at growth patterns in the two towns. While Allentown is essentially built out, Upper Freehold has seen a lot of development since 2000, he said.
The report determined that the HFC needed a full-time paid driver. Fierstein said both towns paid equally for the driver.
Fierstein also said that the towns own the HFC’s two pumper trucks together, as each municipality paid for half. He said that Allentown handled the bidding for the first pumper and paid the engineering costs, while Upper Freehold did the same for the second pumper.
Fierstein said that ever since 2005 when Upper Freehold Committeeman David Horsnall – who had been the committee’s liaison to the HFC – left the committee, there have been communication problems between the township and borough. He said that this year the two municipalities did not meet to discuss the fire budget until the end of April.
“The whole issue is communication,” Fierstein said, adding that the two municipalities and the HFC should have already met to put together a 2008 budget, but they have not.
“Allentown is more than willing to pay its fair share,” Fierstein said. “We’re more than willing to discuss ways of funding the fire company. Dealing with public safety is not a dollar-driven issue.”