Plan Underway to Save OH Fire Department

Opponents of a plan to close the Spencer Township Fire Department, led by a township trustee, vowed Thursday to block the move slated to happen at the end of the month.

Township trustees voted 2-1 on May 2 to disband the township’s fire department and contract with the Springfield Township Fire Department for service because the township could no longer afford to operate its own department. Trustees Shawn Valentine and Teresa Bettinger voted for the department closure. Trustee Michael Hood, who led Thursday’s meeting, voted against it.

He pledged Thursday the transfer of service to Springfield would not take place as scheduled on July 1.

“I have informed the chief and the department there will be no transfer on July 1. That’s not going to happen,” Mr. Hood said.

Ms. Bettinger texted in response to The Blade that she had no comment and did not attend the meeting. Mr. Valentine, who is on military deployment in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, responded in an email that he had no comment.

An overflow crowd attended a two-hour informational meeting Thursday at the Spencer Township Fire Station. The opponents of closing the fire department formed a citizens committee and launched a collection drive to pay for an attorney. The group discussed several strategies for thwarting the department’s closure, including pursuing a court order.

The group contends that open-meeting laws were violated by township officials discussing the fire department issue.

Mr. Hood and Spencer fire Chief Carl Arnold have accused Mr. Valentine and Ms. Bettinger of meeting secretly with Springfield fire Chief Barry Cousino to discuss the issue before the May 1 vote. Mr. Valentine has admitted to the meetings.

Mr. Hood also contends Mr. Valentine is not a legitimate officeholder, meaning his vote should not count.

After Mr. Hood and former Trustee D. Hilarion Smith voted in December to remove Mr. Valentine from office, a Lucas County prosecutor advised that the action was illegal and said that Mr. Valentine must be restored to his seat. That finding will not become official until the Ohio Supreme Court rules on the matter.

The Spencer Township Fire Department staff has already received notices of dismissal, effective July 1.

Chief Arnold said he has given his department the order that until the chairman of the board of the trustees or the sheriff’s department gives a court order to remove them that they will not transfer service to Springfield Township’s department.

“One trustee in Ohio does not have the authority to make those decisions,” Mr. Cousino said. “It’s a shame, but I think [this deal] is in the best interests of both communities.”

Spencer Township currently spends about $500,000 per year on its fire department. To fund the department, the township has used revenue from a fire levy, along with money from its Joint Economic Development Zone income tax revenue.

Spencer’s contract with Springfield Township calls for Spencer to pay $128,000 in the first year and 3 percent annual increases thereafter over 10 years. Spencer Township’s firehouse would be staffed around the clock with three individuals, including at least one paramedic at all times.

“I think it’s important to note that [Spencer] has to give [Springfield] two years’ notification if they want to end their contract, but we could close our station in two and a half months,” said Carol Schull, who runs the Spencer Township Neighborhood Center.

While it would still be called the Spencer Township Fire Department, its staff would be Springfield Township employees. Springfield Township will honor Spencer Township’s contracts to provide fire protection to Harding and Swanton townships.

Mr. Cousino said his department will hire six to 10 people, who could be Spencer Township Fire Department employees. The Springfield Township Fire Department, which also provides coverage for the village of Holland, has 72 members and operates three fire stations.

Chief Arnold said Thursday he was never given an opportunity to present a counter-proposal to the trustees, though he did use a May meeting of the trustees to state his case.

He gave three scenarios that would have reduced the budget and allowed the township to maintain a department: cutting pay for firefighters and EMS personnel, creating a live-in volunteer department, and using paramedics and volunteers rather than full-time employees.

“I don’t think [Mr. Valentine] realized the support this fire department has earned over the years from this community,” Mr. Arnold said.

The contract calls for Springfield Township to lease Spencer Township’s fire station for $1 annually. But that parcel of land also includes the Spencer Township Hall, which has caused concern that Springfield could shut down the town hall.

“They’re going to put a local government out of business,” Mr. Smith said at the meeting Thursday night. “It’s unacceptable, and it’s not what we’re about.”

In 1983, a similar scenario played out. The Spencer Township Fire Department dissolved because of multiple outstanding lawsuits, with Springfield Township assuming service.

However, that lasted only for one year. In the 33 years since, the Spencer Township Fire Department has maintained uninterrupted service.

“I support the Spencer Fire Department,” Mr. Hood said, “and I always will.”

Contact Kyle Rowland at: [email protected], 419-724-6282, or on Twitter @KyleRowland.

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