West Branch Firemen's Association urges county to restore recurring budget line for training and operations

Todd Winder, president of the West Branch Firemen's Association, told the Lycoming County Board of Commissioners on Jan. 9 that the association has faced repeated funding gaps that threaten firefighter training and essential countywide training-site operations.

Winder told the commissioners that West Branch provides supplies for personal-accountability tags for every county firefighter, funds training packages through outside colleges, and pays liability and property insurance for the county’s two training sites. He said the association has been left without requested county funds for three consecutive years in the past and that the group was not included as a line item in the county’s 2025 budget.

"We have no means of income outside of the County budget," Winder said, describing West Branch as unable to levy taxes and dependent on county support, grants and donations. He asked the board to "add the West Branch Firemen's Association to the county budget as a line item and…