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Council declines to proceed with PSLIT request from Center Township for McCutchenville Fire Department
Summary
Center Township trustee and McCutchenville Fire Chief requested a portion of local public-safety LIT funds for volunteer fire apparatus; council members expressed reluctance to allocate city PSLIT monies outside city boundaries and no motion was made to pursue a resolution.
Center Township Trustee Gary Burtzel and McCutchenville Fire Chief Brandon Elliott presented a request on Aug. 26 for a portion of local public-safety Local Option Income Tax (PSLIT) distributions to support apparatus purchases and operations for the volunteer McCutchenville Fire Department, which serves rapidly growing North Side areas.
Chief Elliott told the council that call volume has grown substantially over the last decade — now well over 2,000 runs per year — and that the volunteer department’s apparatus are aging (three trucks approaching 30 years old). He asked the council to consider appropriating a portion of PSLIT funding to help sustain apparatus.
Several council members, including Councilwoman Mosby and others representing city wards, raised objections to using city PSLIT funds for services outside city limits. Council members noted their responsibility to city fire departments and questioned whether the county was the appropriate funding source. The township representatives said they will also seek county funds and noted the trustee’s other duties (utility assistance, burials, rental assistance) that consume local levies.
Council members asked the city attorney whether the council had authority to make such a distribution; the attorney said the council has discretionary authority but that the action would require a public hearing. After discussion, the council chair called for a motion to proceed with drafting a resolution and to set a special meeting for Aug. 29 to vote. No council member moved to proceed; the chair observed there was no motion and treated the request as denied with no resolution drafted.
Trustee Burtzel and Chief Elliott were advised to pursue county-level funding as well; there was no formal appropriation or vote to allocate PSLIT funds from the city.
