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Council introduces ordinance to codify higher city funding for Susquehanna Hose Company after public remarks
Summary
Havre de Grace council voted 6-0 to introduce Ordinance 11-81 on first reading, moving the Susquehanna Hose Company funding from a 2¢ allocation to 3.6¢ per $100 of assessed value. Fire company leaders urged the change during public comment, citing rising vehicle costs and expanded emergency duties.
Havre de Grace Mayor William T. Martin and the City Council introduced an ordinance on April 7 to change how the city funds the volunteer Susquehanna Hose Company, moving the allocation from 2¢ to 3.6¢ per $100 of assessed property value.
The measure, introduced as Ordinance 11-81, was moved by the council president and seconded by Councilmember Boyer. The council voted 6-0 to adopt the ordinance on first reading and scheduled a public hearing for the item at the April 21 council meeting.
The Susquehanna Hose Company’s president, Joe Miller, and Chief Scott Hurst spoke during the public comments section to ask for the funding change. “Providing ISO class 1 fire protection to the city of Havre de Grace is not cheap,” President Miller said, noting the company’s status among only three ISO class 1-rated departments in Maryland. Chief Hurst described steep increases in apparatus prices and rising operational costs, saying a ladder truck ordered for Chapel Road will cost $1,700,000 and an engine for Market Street about $1,100,000, with deliveries scheduled in 2026; he also estimated a future apparatus could cost about $2,000,000 with delivery beyond 2029.
Mayor Martin said the ordinance will “give them that money by right,” moving the automatic allocation from the longstanding 2¢ (in place for roughly two decades) to 3.6¢ so the company receives the funds annually without having to request supplemental payments. The mayor estimated the change would take the annual allocation “from about $400,000 to about $700,000.”
Council discussion preceding the vote focused on mechanics and history. A council member said the ordinance ties the rate to the tax base so the allocation grows when property assessments rise; the mayor and several council members noted the city has supplemented the company’s budget in past years. No amendments were offered during the first-reading motion.
The ordinance text, as introduced, appears to set the allocation at 3.6¢ per $100 of assessed value to fund the Susquehanna Hose Company. The council will hold a public hearing on Ordinance 11-81 at its April 21 meeting; the item will return to the council for a second reading and final vote thereafter.
The Susquehanna Hose Company leaders also described changes in emergency service coverage: the company now hosts two career medic units supplied by the county out of its stations and reported nearly 3,000 calls last year from several stations, increasing operational and facility costs. Chief Hurst said the county is moving toward a “combination” model—career and volunteer—placing career staffing in busier areas first, which the chief said could influence future funding and station planning.
The council did not take final action to adopt the ordinance; the first-reading vote (introduction) was recorded 6-0 in favor. The public hearing and subsequent vote are set for the April 21 council meeting.
Votes at this meeting on the item were procedural: motion to introduce Ordinance 11-81 (mover: Council President; second: Councilmember Boyer); roll-call introduction vote 6-0. A public hearing will be held April 21 at 7 p.m.
