Fire Rescue News - Crowd urges Weymouth Township not to cut Fire Department funds
WEYMOUTH TOWNSHIP — The Township Committee does not plan to introduce its 2011 budget until next month, but residents are already asking that local emergency services be left off the chopping block.
Concerned homeowners and raised voices filled The Oaks of Weymouth clubhouse Wednesday night as members....Continue Reading
of the Dorothy Volunteer Fire Department expressed concerns that the governing body already planned to cut its funding this year.
That turned an otherwise cordial meeting into a somewhat heated affair, spurring a crowd from the senior development where the committee relocated its meeting to call on the committee to make the emergency responders a priority.
“We understand the economic times. We’re not asking for more,” Assistant Fire Chief Jess Hand said, “but we don’t want to take another step back.”
Committeewoman Amelia Messina said she told the volunteers to come to the meeting after she said a preliminary budget included a cut to the department, but Mayor Frank Craig and Committeeman Ken Haeser said nothing was final.
But, recalling how volunteers recently pumped out flooded basements and helped snow-stranded residents and noting how they respond to hundreds of fire and ambulance calls each year, residents said the committee needed to do even more to fund its local department.
“The people in this development appreciate what you do for us,” Oaks resident Eunic Hogan told the row of men and women wearing blue “Dorothy Fire-EMS” shirts on the side of the room. “You are our lifeline.”
Craig said he plans to keep the tax rate stable this year, but a major issue is whether Mullica Township may back out of a dispatch service it shares with Weymouth, Buena Vista Township, Egg Harbor City, Estell Manor and Folsom.
If Mullica ceases paying its portion for the Mid-Atlantic regional dispatch center, the other members, including Weymouth, would have to make up the difference.
On Wednesday, Mullica Township Mayor Jim Brown said his administration has not made a definite decision on whether it will pull out of the shared dispatch, but he said the township is still pursuing ways to cut its own budget.
According to information the fire department distributed at the meeting, the department responded to 168 fire calls last year and 500 ambulance calls.
It received $34,500 in from the Weymouth government last year, as well as $25,888 from Estell Manor, Buena Vista and Maurice River Township in Cumberland County for its ambulance services.
It also raised another $92,433 through fundraisers, but still fell $40,000 short of its actual expenses and made up the difference through savings.
Linda Madara said she still had to pay for equipment for her son, who volunteers in the department.
“These guys are out in a state of emergency,” she said. “They’re up on people’s roofs. They do what they’re supposed to do.”
“I don’t think there’s anybody on the Township Committee who disagrees with that,” Craig said, and ended the discussion by asking to Hand to work with the committee as it continues to revise its budget.
Contact Lee Procida: 609-457-8707 LProcida@pressofac.com
This story was taken from the news source stated above. It's content and comments are not necessarily the opinion of The Elwood Vol. Fire Company or it's members.
