Mount Vernon City Council voted on April 27 to approve a renewal of the College Township fire contract that expires on May 31 with changes over staffing requirements and potential property tax abolition in Ohio.
The contract renewal is significant for both Mount Vernon and College Township, as it outlines how fire and emergency medical services will be provided and funded. The updated terms aim to provide flexibility in staffing and ensure continued service even if state tax laws change.
"There was some wording in there where it talks about personnel staffing, which is, which was one officer, one firefighter, and one part time employee," Mount Vernon Fire Chief Chad Christopher said. according to a video recording of the meeting. "So we changed that to just one sworn officer, because it could be a captain or a lieutenant, and then one firefighter, then two more firefighter paramedics, whether that's either full time or part time. We didn't want to just handcuff ourselves and just say it needed to be a part timer."
Safety Service Director Tanner Salyers said another change to the contract deals with the possibility that property taxes become unconstitutional to collect in Ohio. In that case, he said the contract calls for all parties -- the city, College Township and Kenyon College -- to sit down and enter into good faith negotiations on how to move forward. Similar actions would be taken across Ohio as government agencies sought how to renegotiate contracts and provide essential services, he said.
Christopher said they met with the township trustees and Kenyon College last year to make sure they are happy with the city's services. He said both have been pleased with the services. The College Township trustees meet at the beginning of the month and planned to approve the contract also. Christopher said it would benefit the city to move a little quicker than normal as a result. City Council President Bruce Hawkins asked that in the future they make sure things are done without the need to suspend the rules and move to a third reading.
Christopher said the contract is for $500,000. Salyers said EMS billing is associated with this, which is on top of the contract billing. He said the township and college pay for the services the city provides. And it is mutually beneficial as it helps the city with its costs associated with running a fire and EMS service. They get a premier fire service with the best trained, most credentialed staff and best equipment, something that's not the same with a volunteer fire service.
Christopher said the call rate has remained steady across the board. The college gets busier when in session. Any increase seen has come from the city's call volume increased, he said.
