Hartford Fire is out of money with a fair to protect
CROTON − It’s the time of year when all of Licking County focuses on the rural northwest corner of the county, when more than 200,000 people flock to the Hartford Independent Fair.
Behind the scenes, officials from the Hartford Fair Board, Hartford Township and its Fire Department have been scrambling to make sure firefighters are once again on site for the seven-day duration of the fair, which includes events such as fireworks, demolition derby, motocross and rodeo, as well as the usual concerns about heat-related illnesses or sudden summer storms.
The 165th Hartford Fair began Sunday and ends Saturday, with daily hours of 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.
The Hartford Township Fire Department, which switched from a volunteer to paid department two years ago, ran out of money last week and barely made its last payroll. On July 31, the department had $25,390.75 in the fire fund. Three days later, the payroll was $25,387.93, leaving just $2.82 remaining.
Township Trustee Chris Peck recently discussed contingency plans with Monroe Township Fire Chief Dudley Wright if the department cannot pay its personnel. “What I did was I met with the Monroe Township fire chief to discuss policy and procedure should we have to temporarily close our fire department to regroup if we couldn’t make payroll, to have them cover our runs,” Peck said.
“My first concern is to maintain the safety of my constituents,” Peck said. “That’s all that was for: a backup plan to make sure we didn’t have a lapse in fireems service.”
Township trustees met in a special session last week, six days before the start of the fair, to discuss with a Hartford Fair Board representative about providing firefighters for the fair, as has been done in previous years.
The fair board agreed to pay Hartford firefighters directly for their time at the fairgrounds. Each day, two firefighters will be on site from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and six from 5 to 11 p.m. A fire suppression apparatus will also be on scene.
The Fair Board also agreed to supply the fire department with up to 10 gallons of diesel fuel and up to five gallons of gasoline.
The Hartford Township Fire Department covers Hartford and Bennington townships and the village of Hartford.
Tense exchange between trustees and fair board at special meeting
Peck and Fair Board Vice President
Adam Wampler had a tense exchange at the meeting after Wampler distributed a one-paragraph proposal for fire department coverage at the fair. Wampler, the fair board emergency planning committee, Hartford Fire Chief John Hill and Trustee Tom Cooperrider came up with the agreement, Wampler said.
Peck said he wanted to negotiate a more formal and detailed contract reviewed by an attorney from the Licking County Prosecutor’s Office. He said his concerns included the township’s liability and worker’s compensation costs if an accident occurred.
“Do you have a specific contract, or just something written out like this? Peck asked. “Is this what you do, just write this out and that’s it.”
Wampler said, “With the short amount of time I had, that’s what…”
Peck interrupted: “We’ve had a year to work this out.”
“I could argue you’ve had a year to figure it into your budget, but I’m not,” Wampler replied.
“I don’t understand why you’re arguing with me,” Peck said. “I’m just going to tell you we can’t even make payroll this month, so I’m not sure how we can cover anything in addition. That kind of puts us in a bad situation for our employees.”
“I understand that. I’m offering to pay your people’s time, rather than asking you to do it out of pocket,” Wampler said.
“I think we have a lot of liability out there. Things can happen,” Peck said.
Trustee Gib Grandstaff said, “I think we have a lot of liability by not being there. It’s not costing us anything out-ofpocket, unless something happens. There’s thousands of people there that (have) got to have protection. My family
is up there, too, along with everybody else’s family.”
Trustees approve agreement with fair, 2-1, without formal contract
Following the exchange, Cooperrider and Grandstaff voted for the proposed agreement and signed it. Peck voted against it. The fair board will pay an estimated $6,500 to the firefighters working at the fair.
Peck said he wants firefighters to be at the fair but opposed the procedure used to reach the agreement.
“The reason I voted ‘no’ was because I wanted to make sure all the (fair) patrons’ safety and well-being were covered, our employees’ safety and well-being were covered and the liability of the township, in a contract form,” Peck said.
“We could have worked it out as a community throughout the past year, instead of waiting right before (the fair). It was never discussed, never negotiated.”
Cooperrider said, “Now we’re a paid fire department and going through growing pains. We feel it’s important we have a presence there. It’s only a mile, but you worry about response time.”
The fair board asked Licking Memorial Health Systems to provide first aid at the fair for the first time. Normally, Licking Memorial would have a booth at the fair and perform wellness screenings.
Ben Broyles, the health systems’ vice president of community health and wellness, said Licking Memorial will have four to six nurses at a time at the fair, but they will not be able to administer medications.
He said they will help with treating cuts, scrapes and scratches; removing debris; and assisting first responders.
“Our role is basic first aid,” Broyles said. “We asked for volunteers and had a great response — well over 30 nurses participating.”
The nurses will all be paid by Licking Memorial.
Amid financial struggles, fire department seeks advance on tax revenue
Peck said he discovered a year ago that the department was $140,000 in debt, just before the township received its semiannual tax payment from the county.
“I look at the big picture, at every cost we have we can project, and I don’t think that’s necessarily been a common practice in the past,” Peck said.
Adam Lanthorn, who became fiscal officer April 1, said the department will be $46,000 in debt in February, just prior to its March tax payment.
“We’ve been able to cut costs from the budget,” Lanthorn said. “We’re trying to be fiscally responsible. We want to stay within our means. We have to make this money last until March.”
Licking County Chief Deputy Auditor Martha Snavely said the township will receive its second half property tax payment this month, with a requested advance coming next week for $129,300, followed by the rest later in August.
The department, which has a $1.1 million annual budget, receives money from Hartford and Bennington township levies, as well as EMS revenue.
“We’ve been able to make it because Bennington helped us, giving us advances and fulfilling their contract and working as a team,” Lanthorn said. “They’ve been exceptional.”
Cooperrider said finances became tighter after the switch to a paid department, but it could not continue with volunteers anymore. Historically, he said, volunteers were local farmers or local business owners. But increasingly they worked further away from the area, slowing the response.
“You got less and less volunteers, and that becomes tough,” Cooperrider said. “It’s just hard to get people to volunteer anymore.”
Cooperrider acknowledged the budget issues and said another levy may eventually be needed.
“We’re trying to make budget adjustments,” Cooperrider said. “We’re trying to keep making adjustments. We learn more as we go. Certainly, it’s a concern. You’re always under the gun. Always increased costs.” kmallett@newarkadvocate.com 740-973-4539
Twitter: @kmallett1958