Hartford Fire running out of salary cash as Bennington Twp. switches to Homer Fire

The Hartford Fire Department has been struggling financially for months. Now Bennington Township, which the department has covered for decades, has contracted with another department for fire and emergency medical coverage because of what one official called Hartford's lack of "prudent fiscal management."

Bennington Township Trustees unanimously voted Jan. 8 to switch from Hartford's department, which has served Bennington since shortly after the department's 1949 inception, to the Homer Fire Department, Bennington Township Trustee Cindy Powell said in an interview Wednesday.

"Our top priority is making sure that Bennington Township residents have access to 24/7/365 EMS and fire service coverage," Powell said. "Because there was — and still is — no guarantee that Hartford will stay open, the Homer Fire (Department) started providing coverage to Bennington Township on Jan. 11."

Hartford Township Fiscal Officer Adam Lanthorn said Tuesday the department has money to routine expenses, such as utility bills and insurance, but the salary appropriations run out Jan. 28.

Hartford Township Trustee Tim Debolt said the township is working to ensure the area has fire and EMS protection, but there are no solidified plans for how it pay employee salaries.

In 2023, Lanthorn said the department had a $1.059 million budget, and nearly half of that money came from Bennington Township.

"Obviously, our budget is different than what it would have been had Bennington been in with us on this, but regardless … we have to move forward with what we have and look at it from a way that's going to be fiscally responsible and show that we can be fiscally responsible with the funds that we have coming in while still providing the service," Debolt said in a Thursday interview.

Debolt said the township is pulling together an advisory panel with residents to look at potential solutions.

Hartford's department has a full-time chief, three full-time firefighters and about a dozen part-time employees. When asked if the Hartford department would have to lay off staff members or reduce hours, Debolt said said he did not know.

"There are all sorts of possibilities of what we might have to do. We're just trying to find the best solution," he said.

Debolt, who was elected to his first term in November, said the the township will need a special meeting before Jan. 28 to decide what happens with the department moving forward. As of Friday afternoon, that special meeting had not been scheduled.

The department, which switched from a volunteer to paid department two years ago, has served Hartford and Bennington townships in Licking County's northwest corner along the lines of Delaware and Knox counties. Last year, days ahead of the Hartford Independent Fair, the fire department only had $2.82 remaining after paying payroll in early August.

Typically, townships don't get the first half of the year's property tax payment until late March. Lanthorn said the Hartford trustees passed a resolution asking the Licking County Auditor's Office provide the tax revenue as early as possible, and he hopes the township can receive it in early March.

Hartford has a 2.5-mil fire and EMS levy on the March 19 primary ballot, but even if it's approved, that money wouldn't be collected until next year.

Debolt said he's more focused on the short term and looking at what the department does Jan. 29, once salary appropriations are exhausted.

"I'm living in the here and now, and we have to deal with what we're looking at now and how … we move forward with what we have now," he said.

As a result of Bennington switching to the Homer department, Bennington Township's 8-mil fire levy funds are no longer going to Hartford Township. Bennington residents pay $183.67 annually per $100,000 home value, Powell said. Bennington paid the department $442,728.25 in 2023, in two installments after receiving property taxes from the county in the spring and fall. The second payment, Powell said, was supposed to last the department until March when the first half of 2024 property taxes come in.

Bennington trustees also approved providing up to $20,000 to Hartford to be used solely for fire and EMS salaries for the pay period ending Jan. 28, but it was contingent on the department paying the Jan. 18 payroll, Powell said.

Powell said in late 2022 the Bennington trustees became concerned about how Hartford was using the township's fire and EMS levy funds. She said it was an extremely difficult decision to switch fire and EMS coverage to Homer's department, located in Burlington Township, but it was done because of a "lack of prudent fiscal management" by the Hartford department. She said the trustees tried to work with Hartford officials on a solution, but the financial situation continued to deteriorate rapidly.

Powell, a two-term trustee, said the Bennington trustees don't question the dedication and skills of the Hartford Fire personnel, but they needed to ensure their residents had fire and EMS coverage.

Bennington's agreement with Homer is temporary and only goes through March 31. It pays the Homer department $25,000 per month — a total of $62,5000 for the duration of the temporary agreement, Powell said. Bennington is working toward a long-term agreement with Homer and Monroe Township Fire Department for coverage, she said.

As of now, Powell wasn't sure if that longer-term agreement will be for just the rest of 2024 or beyond.

"We're going to have to just look at everything and see where we're at coverage wise," she said. "We're just going to be working with both townships to make sure that Bennington Township residents have the best coverage as possible, based on EMS and fire response times."

The possibility of increased responses times is one of the main concerns of residents, said Samantha Martin, a two-year resident of Bennington Township. She said the Homer department is 13 minutes from her home while the Hartford station is only five minutes away, and every second is critical during a medical emergency or house fire. While she is sure the Homer firefighters and paramedics are fantastic at their jobs, the station is just too far away for her comfort.

Martin said she was at the Jan. 8 meeting and felt the Bennington trustees weren't listening to concerns about responses times and other issues brought up by her and other residents.

She wants to see Bennington and Hartford officials work together on a solution, possibly a joint fire district where each township could have equal say in how the department operates.

"I just feel like there's a better way, rather than just pulling the plug and we just have to deal with that as residents," she said in a Friday interview.

mdevito@gannett.com

740-607-2175

Twitter: @MariaDeVito13

This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Hartford Fire to run out of salary cash Jan. 28, officials say