RS Proposes Increased Fire Company Allocation Without Raising Millage

Earlier this year the Friendship Volunteer Fire Company asked the Roaring Spring Borough Council to include a 1-mill tax increase in its 2024 budget to help fund the fire department. Citing increased costs, dwindling contributions, and equipment that will need to be replaced soon, the fire company said it needs a steadier and more reliable stream of funding to help keep the doors to the fire hall open.

The idea of a millage increase was first presented to council at its April meeting when Friendship Chief James Musselman, who also holds a seat on council, presented his colleagues with a comprehensive list of the cost of running the fire department from recurring costs like utilities, fuel and routine maintenance to what is needed for new equipment and repairs to current supplies.

At the April meeting, Musselman said the fire department is at a “critical time” and that the increasing cost of food has cut into fundraising profits and that the expense of training firefighters, equipment, and testing is making it difficult to keep a working budget. He estimated the cost to “just keep the doors open” this year at around $188,000, an estimate that does not include new apparatus and other necessary equipment.

Council agreed to study the millage increase and throughout the year debated the pros and cons while welcoming public comment on the matter. Council President Rodney Green said at the time that there are procedures to raising taxes and that he wanted to give the public an opportunity to speak on it.

“Any time we are looking to make changes to the millage there are steps we need to follow, and we certainly want to have time for the public to comment,” Green said in April.

Green also acknowledged that Musselman’s presentation made it clear that there is a need for revenue for the fire department and that the borough has to have a “stable and properly operating fire company.”

With the preliminary 2024 budget set to be presented at its November meeting, one that does not include a millage increase, council has elected not to enact a “fire tax” but instead came up with a plan to increase its annual contribution to the fire company from $13,000 to $80,000.

Green said that after taking public comment into consideration the finance committee decided a millage increase would not be the appropriate avenue to take and looked elsewhere for funding.

“We wanted to put together a budget proposal that significantly increased the allocation to the fire company.

Musselman said the increased funding for this year is a “band aid” and that the fire company needs to have the guaranteed funding every year. Green said that once the increased allocation is added to the budget, he is confident it will become a line item in future budgets, meaning the allocation will be part of future yearly budgets, guaranteeing the fire company steady revenue.

“Even though there are no guarantees in life, once you put something like that in the budget it usually doesn’t change,” Green said.

Green said people have a difficult time accepting a millage increase regardless of what the money will be used for.

“A millage increase is a millage increase and the average citizen in the borough isn’t going to understand that this is for the fire company or for this or that. They just know that their taxes went up,” he said.

Green said that with an uncertain economy and inflation council is being careful about increasing millage. He said the borough is facing some long-term needs that may eventually lead to a millage increase but that is a discussion for future years.

Green said the increased allocation to the fire company was achieved through some “creative restructuring” of the budget and the shifting of funds that cold be used for the fire company’s advantage. He also said interest accrued from the $1.2 million the borough received from selling the mountain ground is a possible source of future fire company funding.

Musselman is not convinced that the increased allocation is the way to go and cited Roaring Spring as being the only municipality in the area not to have a dedicated fire tax.

“I plan to fight the proposal with everything I have in me,” Musselman said.

Green said the proposal council came up with does “as well, or even better” than what a millage increase would generate. He said the fire company has done a “tremendous” job getting its financial house in order and back to where they need to be after experiencing some internal issues years ago and that he hopes the public will start increasing its donations to the fire company.

“I understand that there are still some members of the public who are reluctant to make donations to the fire company and I just want to say to everyone that they shouldn’t feel that way. They are a very well-run financial group at this point,” he said.