Walnut Township trustees cut fire department payment to $10,000, remove insurance split from contract

The Walnut Township trustees voted during their meeting to reduce the township’s annual payment to the local volunteer fire department from $16,500 to $10,000 and to remove language in the contract that would have required the department to pay a one-third share of certain insurance costs.

The change followed a contested discussion in which Melody Davis raised concerns that $16,500 was too high and proposed a lower payment. A motion to accept the $16,500 payment was initially recorded as passing. After further discussion the board voted to disregard the earlier approval and approve a revised arrangement: $10,000 per year, disbursed in two installments of $5,000. The final motions were recorded as passing by a 2–1 margin.

Why it matters: the township’s annual support determines local fire coverage funding and how much the department must absorb in operating costs. Trustees cited budgetary caution and differing views on what the township should fund directly versus what the volunteer department should cover.

Board action and debate: according to the meeting record, the board first approved a $16,500 payment in a motion that passed unanimously among the trustees present. After Melody Davis voiced opposition and proposed reducing the amount, the board voted to rescind the prior approval and adopt the $10,000 payment, with the motion to remove the contract’s insurance-split clause also passing. The transcript records the final vote totals as “two yeas, one nay.” The record does not attribute individual roll-call votes to specific trustees for the final motions.

Contract details and implementation: a speaker who had prepared the contract said she removed the one-third insurance language from section 11/part B and filled in other standard contract fields; she said signed copies exist for the township and the fire department. The trustee who presented the contract also said an attorney reviewed the edits and recommended using blue ink so the changes would be visible on the executed document.

Next steps: trustees directed that the revised, signed contract be finalized and that required installments be handled per the board motion. The meeting record shows the board planned to obtain the necessary signatures and proceed with the adjusted payment schedule.

Article provenance: This article summarizes the trustees’ discussion and formal motions about the fire department contract and payments as recorded in the meeting transcript (topic first discussed beginning SEG 020; discussion and final motions concluded SEG 266).